Behind Bars
by DEVILZ CHIK
Summary: Syaoran was a convict doing his time in prison. Sakura was the doctor in the prison with only two rules given: to attend to the prisoners’ medical assistance and to never fall in love with an inmate. He asked her to wait, she said she couldn’t.
1. Finally, a purpose

**Behind Bars  
**By: DEVILZ CHIK  
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Summary:  
**Syaoran was a convict doing his time in prison. Sakura was the doctor in the prison with only two rules given: 1) she attends to the prisoners' medical assistance and 2) she never falls in love with an inmate. He asked her to wait; she said she couldn't. Then, they meet again.  
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**Chapter 1: Finally, a purpose

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"… The jury has reached its verdict."

Li Syaoran caught his breath as he waited for the verdict to be announced.

"...Guilty."

And now, what would his sentence be? Five years? Ten years? Twelve years? All his life? Death penalty?

No, his wrong deed could not be that bad that it would cost him his life. Right?

It wasn't even _his _wrong deed. He was framed. He was being convicted and condemned for a crime he did not commit. But the evidence had been planted – the blame was to be put on him. His defense counsel had done their part but the prosecutor remained tough and persuasive.

"… To spend his next seven years in prison."

Seven years! Li turned to his defense attorney helplessly. Would an appeal shorten his duration in prison? His attorney shook his head sadly and turned towards him.

"We'll continue working on it," the man said to the younger man, as the supposed criminal was being handcuffed by two guards.

"Please… and thank you," was all Li could mutter back as he followed the guards back to his cell.

He was forcing himself not to cry. He was man enough to face this, right? The people who were doing this to him would end up in hell, that's for sure. If it would not happen before his seven years were over, it would happen as soon as he gets released.

Huh, he would be 36 by then.

The other prisoners were looking at him intently as he and the guards passed by the other cells. Li looked up for a second and returned their gazes. He almost felt sick - he _knew_ he wasn't like the rest of them.

He was _sure_ of it.

* * *

From her window, she could see the yard where the inmates from The General Population were hanging out. She could also see the big black gate of the Wolf State Penitentiary. Her eyes landed again on the inmates moving around the vast yard randomly. It made her wonder if committing a crime was worth being bored in this place.

"Sakura-chan, we're expecting a new inmate today," her colleague with the name of Shoya Nagasaki called out to her.

She turned around to face him and nodded. "Okay, only one?" she asked.

"Yeah," Shoya replied. "I can do his physical examination, if you want."

She smiled at him. "Thank you," she said sweetly which earned a slight blush from Shoya.

"No problem," he shrugged. "I know you're tired already, anyway."

Sakura smiled at him again before he turned around and left her alone.

She sighed audibly before deciding to sit on her chair, far away from the view of the yard. She had always wanted to become a doctor but she never imagined herself actually wanting to help out a bunch of men in prison and attend to their medical assistance.

Almost every day, a convict would be in the infirmary with a broken nose, a swollen eye or a wounded lip. The fights between the men seemed endless. She was now starting to wonder how she lasted six months in the place already.

She also needed to get a life. When a convict goes into counseling with her, suggestive smirks and playful pick-up lines were always thrown her way.

She wanted a prince charming since she was a child and she knew she would never find him in this place.

She was, after all, told to not fall in love with any inmate. So the flirtatious remarks and teasing comments were dropped and ignored.

* * *

Li Syaoran glanced at the watch of the guard who was sitting across him in the van. It was almost four o' clock in the afternoon. They had been traveling for almost two hours now and all he got was one glass of water thorough the entire ride. Well, at least he was given something.

Somehow, the guards with him felt comfortable with him. It was not as if they were escorting a prisoner to a bigger jail. It was not like that at all. They were acting as if they were escorting a very important person to his business meeting.

Syaoran had such a strong aura around him that draws people's attention and increases their interest about him. The intriguing question running around their minds was what he had done to be thrown into prison like this.

The tall walls of Wolf State Penitentiary finally came into view. The van halted in front of the gate. The driver talked to the guard for a few moments before they heard the giant gates open for them. The guard sitting with Syaoran looked at him sympathetically when the van stopped again and the driver went outside to open the door for them.

Syaoran slowly got off the van, feeling the life of his legs come back to life after hours of sitting down. He was welcomed by the afternoon sun, blazing above him strongly. 'Ah,' he thought. 'Spring around the corner already.'

The same guard gave him a little push when he didn't make a move to walk afterwards. "Let's get going now," he told him.

Syaoran followed his order. He was joined by two more guards as he made his way inside the building.

They stopped in front of two metal doors. The guard in front of him spoke to his radio to open up. After a blasting sound and click, the door opened. But Syaoran was not focusing on the hi-tech door – he was staring at the plaque with the name of the place he was staying in for the next seven years of his life.

**Wolf State Penitentiary  
****Since 1991**

* * *

"Sakura," Shoya called, coming inside of Sakura's office. "I've done the physical on the new prisoner. I think you would want to look at his medical records."

Sakura took the folder he was holding out and placed it on her table.

"I'll look at it later," she said tiredly. She had just recently bandaged up two prisoners who almost fractured each other from a small riot. "Is there anything special about this new guy?"

"Well, he's diabetic," Shoya replied with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Why the look?" Sakura inquired, amused at Shoya's expression.

Shoya had been her only friend in the entire facility. He was three years older but didn't look like it and didn't act like it. He had been there earlier than her but he seemed to get a hang on things quite easily anyway so he didn't have any problems when he first moved there. Sakura was another issue: it took her three months to get used to everything.

"He doesn't seem to be the type of person who would have diabetes," Shoya replied.

Sakura just laughed.

"I'm serious," he insisted. "He doesn't even look like an inmate to me."

"I think that's the first time I've heard you say that," Sakura commented, knowing full well that Shoya had strong judgments on the inmates.

"He does look like a decent guy," he pressed on. "I have a feeling he'll be the first one to not throw anything funny on you."

Sakura just smiled again, not knowing what to say.

"Well, let's hope that's true," she said finally.

"You be the judge – he has a 6:00 appointment with you for his shot," Shoya informed her.

Less than two hours away – 'wow, I can hardly wait', she thought sarcastically.

* * *

Still had handcuffs on, Syaoran followed the captain and another guard to his cell. He was being sent to the General Population – you know, instead of the Psych Ward and he felt quite relieved that he had not gone insane from what he'd been through so far.

"Open up!" the captain shouted. The barred gate in front of them opened for them and once Syaoran stepped inside, he could smell the distinct smell of men. He could hear the loud yet low voices of all of them, catching a thing or two in their conversations. He continued walking and the same sick feeling exploded inside his body.

As he took in the sight of all of them, he discovered that they were all animals and he was nothing like them. He didn't deserve to be in this place.

The guards walked up the first flight of stairs and he silently followed them, ignoring the random questions thrown his way by the prisoners he was passing by behind bars.

"Open Cell 38!" the captain bellowed.

Syaoran heard the cell open but he could not quite see what the place looked like. The two guards went out of the way so he could go inside. The guard placed his box on the bottom bed.

"Welcome to WSP, mate," the guard said with a big smile. He was not sure if it meant to cheer him up or to mock him.

He just gave a quick nod and went inside the cell. "Close Cell 38!" the captain yelled out. The cell closed in front of him. "Your hands out, please," the captain told him.

He put his handcuffed hands in between the bars and let the captain release him from them. "You have a 6:00 with the doctor," the captain reminded him and left.

Sighing, he sat on what he assumed to be his bed, rubbing his wrists where the handcuffs left a mark on. He had it for so long and it was too tight. It seemed to be getting smaller as it stayed on him.

Something then moved on the top bunk and the person that was on it jumped down and held something in front of his face. It was a paper with a 'Welcome, new cellie' written on it in a very artistic style of graffiti. On the side was a drawing of their mini cell with a big 38 on top. The cell was not closed though and the key was inside the keyhole but there were two distinct figures inside who were not making a move to get out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Syaoran asked as it sparked his interest.

"Well, I don't really know," said the man in front of him, taking the paper away from his face and looking at it for himself to examine it further. "I just know that it's impossible to get out of here and the key thing – will never happen. The guards don't come in here with keys dancing around their side."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes, waiting for more explanation.

"Just warning you," the guy continued. "You know, if you're planning to escape," the man shrugged and finally felt the uncomfortable atmosphere between them until it clicked to him. "I'm Takashi Yamazaki," he held out his hand. "By the way."

Syaoran broke into a small grin and shook Yamazaki's hand. "Li Syaoran," he introduced himself.

"Well, Li, how long are you staying in here for?" Yamazaki asked.

"Seven years," Syaoran replied in dismay. "How much time you got left?"

"Less than six," Yamazaki said in the same tone he did. "I've only been here for eight months and I'm already bored. I don't know what else I can do. I'm going to rot in here," he declared hopelessly, brushing his dark blue hair backwards in frustration.

"Aren't we all?"

Yamazaki smirked at his smart reply. "Huh, I think I'm going to like you," he simply said, earning a smirk from Syaoran as well. After that, he went back to the top bunk and Syaoran assumed that he was sketching up there, figuring out that he was with an artist because of his welcome gift for him.

Syaoran lazily lied down on his bed and smiled a little, grateful that the pillow was soft and the mattress was not so bad. And that was when he realized that what people said about him was true. He was, indeed, a spoiled brat and a meticulous man.

So now, he did not know how he was going to pull a life of a prisoner.

For seven years.

* * *

Sakura wore her white coat as she knew that the diabetic prisoner would come in any moment now. All the supplies were ready and he would be her last patient of the day and then she could go back home.

Home – her lonely quiet house.

She had her back to the door and she was so deep in thought about going back home that she did not notice the prisoner come in until he coughed to get her attention. She quickly turned to the source of the sound.

"Sorry," she quickly said as she saw the prisoner looking confused. "Come sit here," she pointed the chair in front of her and the prisoner followed her order.

"What's your name again?" she asked him as she prepared a cotton ball to wipe his arm with before the injection.

He took a moment to reply. "Li Syaoran," he replied. "And you're Doctor…?" He didn't even know why he wanted to know her name.

"Kinomoto Sakura," she answered as she plunged the needle into his skin. He did not even flinch when she did so and she just assumed that he was used to it. According to his records, anyway, he had been diagnosed with diabetes for three years now.

The name rang a bell in his head, making him wonder what in the world would a girl like her be doing in a place like that.

She gave him a moment to relax his arm and gave him a cotton ball to put where she had just injected him. She went to her table to get his file and jot down something there then something else caught her eye that she did not notice when she first looked at it.

"You're fresh out of your master's degree in Engineering and Business," she stated, astonished.

Syaoran rubbed the back of his head, uncertain what to tell her. "Uuh, yeah," was all he could say.

Sakura chucked and yet again, she noticed the confused expression on his face because of her actions. "My assistant said that you looked like a decent guy," she said, closing his file and looking at him closely. "I didn't know he was actually being serious." She paused. "What are you doing here then?"

Syaoran was caught off guard with the question. He did not want to think about it.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked her back.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind, you don't have to answer," he said dismissively then stood up, realizing that they were done. Sakura did not make a move to stop him from exiting the room so he continued walking.

But before opening the door, he stopped and looked at her again. "Not for now, anyway," he said playfully, a smile tugging at his lips. "Let's save it for the next time we meet."

It was then her turn to be confused. She looked at him blankly and blinked her eyes a few times after he had gone, not believing what just happened. Because at that moment, she also asked herself what she was exactly doing there and she found it awkward that for the first time ever, she was looking forward to seeing an inmate.

Just seeing him – not exactly answering his question.

Syaoran was a little lightheaded as he walked back to his cell after dinner in the Dining Hall. Sakura still remained in his thoughts. And, he found something interesting to do while he was in there.

Sakura just gave him a purpose.

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**Author's Notes: **Yes, this was inspired by Prison Break (Scofield rocks!). This would hopefully be a short story. Please review! The ideas I have for this story are fresh so expect me to update quickly but your reviews will definitely help me.

Thanks for reading!

**xx DEVILZ CHIK**


	2. Seriously, a jerk

**Behind Bars  
**By: DEVILZ CHIK  
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**Chapter 2: Seriously, a jerk

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So it was what Syaoran looked forward to everyday – his daily shots with Dr. Kinomoto. He knew who she was, alright. He definitely knew who she was – maybe more than she thinks he does.

The Kinomoto family was one of the famous families in the country, most of all when the grand Mr. Fujitaka Kinomoto made a very impressive discovery in one of his digs somewhere in the core of Japan. He published his book and earned himself the attention of the public.

And of course, the media looked into his life and then, they became more interested with his not-so-perfect daughter who was graduating in high school that year.

It was years ago but Syaoran could never forget how he tuned in on the news about them. He never knew them personally – even never had his book autographed by the Kinomoto man himself, but he was, for the lack of better word, a fan.

But he just sat there and let Sakura inject him with his shots as if he had never heard her name before. As if he had never seen her before. As if she was nothing to him at all in the first place. As if she was just the doctor who was, basically, balancing his sugar levels.

"I hate to bring this up," he said during their latest session. "But you see, since I believe we are getting closer–"

Sakura interrupted him. "We are getting closer now?" she said in pure mockery, raising one of her eyebrows while writing down on his file.

"Well, we are," he insisted as he nursed the part of his arm she just injected. "I come here everyday. We have a nice little chat," he paused, his eyes never leaving her. "And I think this is the part where you tell me what in the world's name you're doing here."

He had stated it so casually. It was so casual that Sakura could not stop herself from looking at him surprisingly. She had to admit that she was caught off guard. The question he had raised on their first meeting was hovering over her head for the past couple of meetings after their first meeting. But, she eventually forgot about it since he did not bring it up again.

She continued staring at him blankly. She figured maybe she could pretend that he did not say anything at all.

"Really, Sakura, what are you doing in a place like this?" he repeated, louder this time.

Sakura busied herself with finishing up her notes and shuffling his papers on his file. "I don't think you're in a position where you can ask me that question," she stated flatly, the usual humor in her voice gone.

"You're Sakura Kinomoto," Syaoran started, pushing into her boundaries. "_The_ Sakura Kinomoto – only daughter of _the_ Fujitaka Kinomoto. The struggling father who could not seem to control his teenage daughter. As though the world turned upside down, the daughter is actually the second in her entire graduating class and she gets a scholarship in one of the best medical universities in the country. Oh, and later on, she becomes a very successful doctor—"

He could have gone on but Sakura dropped his folder on the table with a _bang_ that made him stop.

"I think you should be going back to your cell," she told him as calmly as she could.

"Aren't you going to answer my question?" Syaoran asked, trying out his luck.

"You know, you give me the impression that you know so much about me," Sakura said coldly. "You shouldn't need to ask me that stupid question."

Sakura threateningly looked outside the window of her office where the guard was waiting for Syaoran. It was his signal to stand up.

"I can only come up with one… theory," he trailed on as he walked towards her door. "You're here because… you know that your father _and_ your brother hate you to be here. You're doing this to torture them just like you think they'd tortured you when you were in high school – you know, to keep up the images, you have to be the little good girl you are."

Sakura was boiling when he ended his second sentence so she was red in fury when he ended his little speech. She clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth as close as possible to each other, in an attempt to not pounce at the guy. She knew, after all, that if she would beat up the guy, she would be the one to clean him up after.

"Seeing your reaction, I guess my theory is correct," with that, he exited the office and walked with the guard, never looking back at her.

* * *

If glares could kill, Syaoran would have been dead by now. Sakura watched him from the glass window of her office walk out of the infirmary. She was sending invisible daggers with fire straight at his cocky head.

How could she not have known that one of the prisoners would, sooner or later, recognize her name? Well, duh – the inmates stuck in the Wolf State Penitentiary, were not big on her name anyway.

They merely addressed her as 'doc', 'chick' or 'hottie'. Being the only female in the facility, no one would wonder why she possessed those nicknames.

She was so lost in her thoughts and still glaring at the direction where Syaoran had gone that she did not notice Shoya come in her office until he was waving one of his hands in front of her.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"He reads me like an open book," she muttered absent-mindedly.

"Who does?" Shoya was now confused.

"That jerk," she spat out.

Shoya inhaled deeply and decided to leave Sakura alone for a while to recover from her meeting with her previous patient. Some of her patients does get on her nerves but he had never seen her angry like this before.

Someone really stepped out of line this time. Who was her last patient? Shoya tried to recall until it hit him—huh, Li Syaoran. He was not so good, after all.

* * *

Syaoran went grudgingly back to his cell with Yamazaki. When they were at the Dining Hall for dinner, he could not stand the stares and glares everyone was giving him. It was as if he was a parasite living among them.

Yamazaki was nice enough to stay at his table even though he made it obvious that he felt uncomfortable with the attention on them the entire time. Even the guards were having a laugh about it.

When all the cells of the General Population shut close, Syaoran turned to Yamazaki and a second later, all the inmates started rattling out of their cages.

"What the hell's going on?" Syaoran asked Yamazaki.

Yamazaki was not really sure what he was asking. "Going on right now or going on a while ago during dinner?" Yamazaki asked Syaoran to clarify.

"Both," Syaoran said.

"Dinner – they got to know you have those everyday meetings with the doc," Yamazaki relied coolly, jumping to his top bunk bed. "Now – they're probably shouting death threats at you."

"Why is that such a big deal?"

"Doof ball!" Yamazaki shouted, running a hand through his hair in annoyance. "Doc's like every guy's fantasy here! Every week, those guys would stage a fight just so they would be sent to the infirmary, just so they could the doc."

Syaoran smirked at that.

"They don't even know who she really is," he mumbled but Yamazaki caught his words.

Yamazaki raised one of his eyebrows at him. "You know who she is?" he asked Syaoran.

"Apparently," Syaoran replied slowly. "Do you?"

Yamazaki smirked and shrugged coolly.

"She happens to be a friend of my girlfriend," Yamazaki bragged. "She technically looks out for me." He caught the slight darkness in Syaoran's eyes. "But we're not close," he continued suddenly. "I've never been with her without my Chiharu."

Syaoran just rolled his eyes and stared outside his cell.

"Well, I need my shots everyday so too bad for them," Syaoran said, catching a curse or two thrown at his way from the other prisoners.

Yamazaki then clicked his tongue while shaking his head, looking straight at Syaoran. Syaoran fully looked up at his cellmate to figure out if he had said something wrong based on Yamazaki's actions.

"I believe you're hooked as well," Yamazaki simply stated and Syaoran did not make a move to deny it.

* * *

Sakura was currently staring at the folder in front of her. She had taken Li Syaoran's file at home – sneaked it out of the facility just to examine the life of that arrogant bastard.

But what she found there did not please her at all.

Her crazy imagination had led her to the conclusion that Syaoran had been a disturbing child ever since. But what was this that she was currently staring at?

The guy was practically clean of any other previous wrongdoings. Not even a single speeding ticket for him. No domestic disputes. The only thing that stained his record was a major assault on one of his colleagues and an attempted murder of the same colleague. That had thrown him into jail.

But other than that, nothing. Na-da. The guy was close to being a saint if he had not attacked that colleague of his.

Sakura huffed, annoyed at the fact that she had absolutely nothing against the guy except for the very main reason as to why he was condemned.

_Argh, how can he know so much about me?_ She thought angrily.

* * *

The next day, only one of them was happy to have their meeting of the day. Syaoran was glad that he gets to skip some of his yard time since it would definitely keep him away from those who had been crushing on Sakura. However, Syaoran was still on Sakura's nerves and on her bad side.

So, as soon as he sat down on his usual chair, Sakura rudely injected the syringe to his skin, slightly surprising him.

Sakura noticed him jump and smirked at that. Huh, if she could not get revenge verbally, might as well hurt him physically. She groaned inside her head – _oh God, I'm turning into a devil._

Syaoran was smart enough to figure out that she was still mad at him from yesterday but he did not make a move to stand up even though she had make it clear that they were done.

"Sorry about yesterday," he finally blurted out what he was keeping in his chest. Ok, so maybe he just could not stand her cold shoulder. "I crossed the line. I apologize. If you want to know why I know who you are – well, I'm a big fan of your father's."

"And how else would you know me except through my father?" she spat.

In that short moment, Syaoran felt her strong emotions towards her father. The way she said _father _held so much hatred that it almost caused him to flinch. And to think, that powerful anger was coming from a fragile-looking doctor.

"You don't deserve to be in a place like this," Syaoran said sincerely.

Sakura looked up at him quickly, studying him if he was serious or just fooling around. _Seriously, who does this guy think he is?_ was the thought running through her mind.

When she did not say a word (since once again, she did not know what to say), he continued, "you think you're punishing your brother and your father, but you're punishing yourself as well –"

"Stop it!" she snapped. "Just… go already. From now on, when you come in here, I only give you your shots. No more small conversations. No more nothing. If you try to be smart with me again, I'm telling the warden."

Syaoran smirked but found out that it was a mistake since Sakura growled seeing one side of his lips rise up.

"I'm correct, though, right?" Syaoran said, cockily, really pushing his limits now.

"Just leave me alone!" Sakura shouted and this time, Shoya burst inside the office to see what was going on.

Both their heads turned to the newcomer and Shoya suddenly felt shivers up his spine when he met Syaoran's gaze. It seemed to be burning with anger and the fires were being channeled towards his direction.

"Is there a problem here, Sakura?" Shoya asked, avoiding Syaoran's eyes.

"Tell the guards to get him out of here," Sakura said emotionlessly. "We're done."

Syaoran grumpily stood up and followed Shoya out the door but looked back at Sakura before fully exiting the room.

* * *

She did not know what was scarier – the fact that she seemed to not have a goal in her life, that she is just going with the flow, accepting what's thrown at her, to the extent where she does not even recognize herself anymore or the fact that someone was out there who seemed to know her better than herself.

Sakura had never been a confident person. She was strong-willed but never took the initiative to start something for herself. When she was in high school, to everyone's surprise, she became a rebel.

A once sweet girl who turned into someone who did not wish to conform to society's rules.

And as quick as she turned into a "bad girl", she changed back to the goody girl that she was.

No one really knew why and how it happened – you know, the quick change. But many just accepted the theory that Sakura loved her family and would not do anything else to damage the family's name and reputation.

As she looked out the window of her apartment, Syaoran's words were racing inside her head.

_You think you're punishing your brother and your father, but you're punishing yourself as well…_

No, she did not accept the job to be the doctor in the Penitentiary to spite her onii-chan and otto-san. She did it in her own accord. It was her decision. Her only decision.

It was the first time she took an initiative to something.

And she remembered being proud of it.

Who would have thought that that jerk would help her realize what exactly she was doing there?

* * *

Their shirts were all wet with sweat as they roam around the big yard of the Penitentiary. It was way too hot. The inmates who would usually be lifting weights at a time like this were simply resting on the bleachers. As much as possible, they were trying their best not to move since the heat was clearly draining all their energy away.

But a group of inmates had their eyes on the newest fish. Syaoran was alone by the fence playing with the disregarded rocks on the ground. His head was down low so the sun would not hit his eyes directly. That was the reason why he did not notice the guys approach him until one of them blocked his sunlight.

He looked up at them with squinted eyes. "Yeah?" he asked then stood up.

He was answered by a punch in the face and a few more kicks and hits in every part of his body.

Syaoran just met Sakura's fan club.

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**Author's Notes: **I'm sad - the email alerts are not working. It is discouraging me to update but oh well. I don't care about the few reviews I got for the first chapter (they were fully appreciated though!). Please review again!

xx **DEVILZ CHIK**


	3. Suddenly, so confused

**Behind Bars  
**By: DEVILZ CHIK  
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**Chapter 3: Suddenly, so confused

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Syaoran could not sleep.

His back hurt like hell; his face feels like the heaviest thing and his arms and legs seemed to belong to a dead person.

The bandages around his wounds were not helping him as well because they were a nuisance to the beauty sleep he had been craving after some dude cleaned his wounds in the infirmary that afternoon.

Yeah, Sakura had not been there. Apparently, she was too busy with another patient when the guards brought him to the hospital wing after his little encounter with her fan club. He wondered if she knew though.

Syaoran groaned again as he slowly changed into a more comfortable position. Suddenly, in the darkness of their cell, Yamazaki jumped from his bunk bed.

"One more move from you and I swear, I will not mind being here in another five years," Yamazaki warned him dangerously.

Yamazaki was a guy who valued his sleep.

"Sorry," Syaoran muttered.

With that, Yamazaki went back to his bed and relaxed in slumber when Syaoran did not change his position on the bed again.

That makes a peaceful sleep for one of them.

* * *

"He was brought here by the guards," Shoya was saying to Sakura the next day. "He was beaten up quite badly. He's lucky he could still walk."

Sakura just nodded her head, uninterested of the matter. It was a normal occurrence at the Penitentiary. Syaoran was not so special that it would not happen to him one way or the other.

"Why did they beat him up? Did he tell you?" Sakura asked, just for the heck of it.

"Well, he didn't say much," Shoya said thoughtfully. "He just said he didn't feel like fighting back."

Sakura snorted. "Maybe he didn't know how," she commented.

"Ouch, I think that hurts more than the punches of those guys," a voice said behind them. Syaoran just walked in the room with his bruised face and wounded arms.

Sakura only looked away from him and pointed to the chair he usually sat. Shoya quietly exited the room and left the two alone.

Tense silence filled the room. The materials for his shot had not been fully prepared so Syaoran had to sit there to wait.

"Ready?" Sakura asked and he only nodded. She injected him as usual and handed him a cotton ball to nurse the injection himself.

After jotting down notes on his file, Sakura sat on her office chair and looked over at Syaoran. His face was a mess and she had to fight back her urge to caress those wounds.

"Why did you let it happen to you?" she asked softly, catching his eye.

"I was outnumbered," he answered simply. "And if I did fight back, I would be in solitary with them. It's better this way, I guess."

Sakura had nothing else to say so she stood up and made it clear that they were done for the way. She initially forgot that she did tell him that they would no longer have those little conversations.

Syaoran stood up as well.

"I'll see you later to change those bandages of yours," Sakura said.

"See you later, then," Syaoran said then exited the room.

* * *

Syaoran had nothing to worry about during their yard since the gang who beat him yesterday was stuck in the solitary chamber. He stayed with Yamazaki and some of the people whom he could call his friends.

He was not really paying attention to what they were saying. He was watching as the prisoners were being called by the guards one by one out of the yard and he was dying to know why.

Rudely, he interrupted the conversation the group was having. "Where is he going?" he asked as the latest prisoner was walking out of the yard.

"He probably has a visitor," Yamazaki answered. "It's a Friday. Many inmates get visitors on Fridays."

The others just shrugged when Syaoran looked at them questionably. He realized that they were not expecting any visitors.

The group went back to what they were talking about before he interrupted. As another prisoner went out of the yard, it made him wonder if someone would visit him.

He had been there for almost a month already. Did his friends forget him already? Was the crime he was accused for that terrible that they were so afraid to see him now?

"Li!" one of the guards called out. "Get out of here!"

Syaoran slowly stood up.

"I guess someone's visiting you," Yamazaki told him. "I might see you there later. My girlfriend said she might come by today."

Yamazaki sent him a reassuring smile before he proceeded to the guard.

He was not sure if having visitors would be overwhelmingly enjoyable or lonely. In the movies, the visitors would always just cry. If not cry, they would be shouting at the prisoner – either because they were so angry or just plain disappointed.

He chose not to ponder who his visitor would be. It could not possibly be his mother or any of his sisters. They made it clear that they would not like to see him in this place. So, who could it be?

It could not possibly be Eriol. That guy hated his guts after believing what he was made to believe: that Syaoran had attacked him that night.

He sighed as he reached the visitor's area.

The room had gray, metal tables and benches on either side of them, where the visitors and the prisoners sat to catch up to each other. It was quite a comfortable place in Syaoran's taste. None of the people seemed to care about anything else. No one was even bothering to eavesdrop.

It was as if there were unwritten rules in the place. Everyone was respecting the intimacy and the privacy between the people in the room.

"There's your guest," the guard informed him.

Syaoran followed the direction the guard was pointing at. And there, in one of the tables by the side of the room, he saw his cousin and ex-fiancé, Li Meiling.

Meiling had her chin resting on her left palm. She was staring out the barred window and had her legs crossed below the table. Her eyes seemed to be far away as if in a dazed. She did not even notice him approach her table.

"Fancy meeting you here," he greeted amusingly.

She smiled recognizing the voice but her smile fell when she noticed his condition.

"What happened to you?" she asked him before standing up to hug him tightly.

His breath hitched when she hugged him tighter as the pain from his bruises on his chest and back shot up. "Sorry," she said meekly as she pulled away from the embrace.

"It's alright," he replied sweetly.

They both sat down and just looked at each other. The table was separating the two and they knew that that distance was nothing compared to the gap they had formed in between them for the last five years.

"You shouldn't be here," she suddenly blurted out.

It caught him off guard. "Nether should you," he retorted back. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"C'mon, I think I've seen the worst of you," Meiling said almost light-heartedly. "And I know well enough that you're innocent."

Syaoran raised both of his eyebrows. "Are you for real?" he asked. "We haven't talked to each other for five years and yet, you still believe in me."

"I did not initiate the not-keeping-in-touch," Meiling pointed out.

"Exactly – you should hate me!"

"Well, I don't," she said stubbornly.

Syaoran eyed her. "What exactly are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I just needed to see you," Meiling answered. "And I want to tell you personally that… I'm working with your lawyers to prove that you're innocent. I'm not going to let you stay here for seven years. These places do things to people."

Syaoran could see the fear and worry in her eyes and he hated himself for it for bringing it to her. Although he called their engagement off, he still cared for her as a brother would to his sister.

* * *

It had been a lonely hour for the infirmary. Sakura figured it was because it was a Friday. None of the prisoners wanted to get themselves hurt because they knew their relatives and friends would come see them.

That was why Sakura had never been so excited before to hear her phone ring.

"Sakura here," she greeted over-enthusiastically.

"Sakura, this is Chiharu," Sakura almost screamed as she heard her friend's voice.

"Chiharu! What's up?"

"Well, I'm currently outside the visitor's area of WS Penitentiary where you work and where Yamazaki is detained," Sakura caught the sadness in her friend's voice as she mentioned her boyfriend's name. "I figured why not visit the two lovely people in my life at once."

"I'll be there!"

"Great! Tomoyo wanted to go as well but she has a show to get ready for," Chiharu said.

"Oh, okay," Sakura said, removing her doctor's coat and getting ready to leave her office. "Well, I'll be watching that show of hers. And it's not like we don't see each other every weekend."

"But it's always so cool to see you besides weekends," Chiharu said. "So get your ass down here!"

"Coming!" Then, Sakura hung up.

She quickly asked Shoya to take care of things while she was gone. She also asked permission to the warden, who quickly said his yes, and basically walked as fast as she could to the visitor's area.

When she got there, she quickly spotted Chiharu and sat beside her. Sakura was slightly panting and Chiharu could not stop herself from laughing at her friend.

"That excited to see me?" Chiharu asked.

"It was just so boring in the infirmary," Sakura said, putting some bangs behind her ear.

"How's your work?"

"You know, the usual – inmates getting hurt because of their co-inmates," Sakura said flatly. "And I'm the one with the task to mend those stupid wounds of theirs."

"Touya's been asking about you," Chiharu then said seriously.

Sakura quickly looked away. But her eyes landed on Syaoran with a visitor across the room. It was a girl about his age as well and from the looks of it, the two of them were really close. The girl was currently studying the wounds in his face and Syaoran didn't seem to mind.

While watching the two, she failed to listen to what was Chiharu was saying until she stopped because Yamazaki had arrived.

* * *

"Who did this to you?" Meiling asked Syaoran as she reached out to touch the bruises in his face.

"Who else, Meiling?"

"Will this be the last time?" Meiling said painfully.

"I don't know," Syaoran said honestly. "If I'm going to stay here for seven years, it might not be the last time."

"You shouldn't let them beat you up like this," Meiling said strongly, pulling her hand away. "You're a fighter, Syaoran."

"And you used to smile more," Syaoran said out of the blue, studying Meiling. "Do you have anything else to say? I really don't like you seeing me like this."

Meiling smiled slightly as she felt the genuine care Syaoran felt for her. He would always be the brother she never had.

"Fine, I'm going," Meiling finally said. "Your sisters send their regards. I can't talk to your mom about you – she just always burst into tears. Eriol's being a bitch nowadays – it makes me wonder how he got a girlfriend. And she's really pretty, too."

Syaoran raised one his eyebrows inquisitively. "Eriol has a girlfriend now?" he asked.

"Well, they're not yet official but he's been asking her out a lot," Meiling replied. "I think he's serious about her."

Syaoran just nodded.

Meiling let out a long sigh and stood up. Syaoran stood up as well. "I'll be back soon," she told him, as she stepped forward to hug him. Syaoran hugged her back and when they pulled apart, he rubbed the top of her head like he used to.

Meiling glared at him and fixed her now-messed-up hair. "Bye now," she said, smiling as she stood on tiptoes to ruffle his hair as well.

She started walking away but she hasn't gotten so far away when Syaoran said, "what, I don't get a goodbye kiss?"

Meiling looked back and sent him a flying kiss which he caught. He smiled at her and winked. Meiling turned around again to the exit and it was not until she was completely gone that Syaoran let out a long breath. Meeting Meiling was too awe-inspiring.

She was part of his past life. She had never been part of the life he had taken that caused him to do big decisions. She may be the only person who would always look at him as a normal teenager boy who was just dealing with life.

Still smiling, Syaoran looked around the room, suddenly conscious of his little display with Meiling.

Sakura's eyes caught Syaoran's as he scanned the room after the girl left. She knew she had to tear her eyes away from him but she couldn't. Syaoran also looked like his efforts were meaningless.

They stared at each other like that and it was long enough for Syaoran to recognize the jealousy and confusion in Sakura's eyes.

-  
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* * *

**To be continued…**


	4. Oh, happy birthday

**Behind Bars  
**By: DEVILZ CHIK  
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* * *

**Chapter 4: Oh, happy birthday

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She would not admit that she felt jealous at the mere sight of Syaoran, for the lack of a better word, _flirting_ with someone. She averted her eyes away from him when she finally noticed that he was reading her.

Her absence in the current conversation with Yamazaki and Chiharu caused them to look where she was looking seconds ago. Yamazaki, recognizing his cellmate on the other side of the room, hollered at Syaoran to come join them.

The guards did not object to this. They knew that Syaoran's visitor had left but yet, they allowed him to stay in the visitor's area.

Syaoran casually walked towards Yamazaki's table, still his eyes on Sakura.

"Hey, Li," Yamazaki greeted, scooting on the bench to give space for Syaoran.

Syaoran sat down beside him, facing Sakura directly across the table.

"This is my girlfriend, Mihara Chiharu," Yamazaki introduced. "Chi-chan, this is Li Syaoran, my new cellie." Syaoran and Chiharu politely shook hands across the table. "Well, you and Sakura already know each other so… there's no more need for introductions."

Chiharu curiously looked at Sakura to find out the reason why. "Oh, he's diabetic," Sakura quickly replied. "He goes to the hospital wing everyday for his shots."

"Oh," Chiharu said, nodding knowingly, smart enough to figure out that something was sparking between the two and it was more than a doctor-patient relationship.

_Tomoyo's matchmaking skills is _so_ needed right now_, Chiharu thought.

It was delightful to know that in circumstances such as these, Chiharu could still come up with an idea to match Sakura with someone. They were in WS Penitentiary, for Pete's sake!

Chiharu coughed to lessen the awkward atmosphere that had risen over their table.

"So… who was visiting you?" she asked Syaoran. Actually, she was asking for Sakura's sake since she knew her friend was dying to know who it was.

"She's my cousin," Syaoran replied, missing the relief that washed over Sakura's face. "I haven't seen her for the longest time. I was kinda surprised she visited me."

"You guys look pretty close," Yamazaki commented.

"We were but we drifted away for a long time," Syaoran said. "But I guess it doesn't matter. We pretty much closed the gap."

Sakura remained quiet during most of the conversation. Her three other companions didn't seem to mind as they left her in her personal bubble.

Finally, the buzz that signals the end of the visiting time echoed throughout the visiting room. There were hushed whispers of goodbyes from the prisoners to their loved ones and painful weeping from some deeply emotional visitors.

Chiharu and Yamazaki stood up and stayed in a deep and warm embrace. Sakura and Syaoran felt awkward as they watched the scene in front of them.

"I love you so much," Yamazaki whispered.

Chiharu had fight back a sob before replying, "I love you too."

They pulled back moments after. Tears were gathering in her eyes and Yamazaki simply caressed her soft hair.

"Be careful, okay?" Chiharu said softly, her eyes now sparkling in tears.

"Yeah, I will," Yamazaki replied.

Another buzz echoed throughout the room. One by one, the prisoners were being escorted back to their cells.

"It's time to go!" shouted one of the guards.

With one last hug and a quick kiss, the couple exchanged a few more words before really breaking apart to say goodbye to each other.

Chiharu picked up her bag and turned to her friend. "You'll watch out for him, right?" she asked Sakura.

Sakura nodded sincerely and gave Chiharu a small smile. "Of course, I will," she said. "C'mon, I'll walk you out."

"It's nice meeting you, Li-san," Chiharu said to Syaoran.

"Likewise," Syaoran replied.

They would have stayed longer if only they were not the last prisoners in the room. The guards were also approaching them now with handcuffs ready.

Sakura, who knew Chiharu well enough, turned her friend around when the guard was cuffing Yamazaki. She knew that Chiharu would not want to see that. They walked towards the exit. But before fully going out of the room, she glanced back quickly but regretted it afterwards.

Because when she looked back, she met a pair of amber eyes intently staring back at her.

* * *

As he walked back to his cell with Yamazaki, Syaoran decided to ponder on what he had seen in Sakura's eyes after Meilin left. It was obvious she looked upset and Syaoran could not stop himself from smirking at that small detail. They would have a meeting that night.

What disappointed him though was that Sakura was not there when he came inside her office. Instead, the Shoya person was there and Syaoran was battling with himself whether or not it was proper to ask where Sakura had gone off to. _Why isn't she here? _

As if reading his mind, Shoya answered, "Sakura left with her friend," he paused to look at Syaoran. "…if you're wondering."

Syaoran merely nodded and exited the office immediately. He had no purpose to stay there longer anyway.

The next day, Syaoran prayed to the sky for Sakura to be in her office that morning. He slowly entered the office he had quite been used to now and could not fight his grin from appearing when he saw a petite woman with her usual white coat.

Sakura seemed surprised to see him.

"Oh, you're here," she commented. "I thought I'm meeting you at 11?"

Syaoran walked across the room and sat on his usual chair. "It _is_ eleven already," he told her.

Sakura looked at the wall clock and was surprised to see that it was indeed eleven in the morning. Time passed by so fast. She felt like she just got there in her office but it had been four hours already.

Oh, the dryness of her job.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "Uhm, wait here?" she asked him as she went out of the office to prepare the medical supplies needed for his shot.

Syaoran smiled as he watched Sakura go outside her office to talk to Shoya who laughed at her forgetfulness. Shoya was glad to help her out though and volunteered to prepare the things for her. With that, she went back inside her office to keep an eye on Syaoran.

Syaoran chose not to meet Sakura's eye. He had been reading her too much and so far, since his assumptions had turned out to be close to the truth, he was afraid of what else he could get out of her. Sakura did not mind this at all. She settled down on her chair and continued what she was writing before he got there.

He looked around the room. It was exactly the same as far as he could tell. When his eyes landed on Sakura's table though, something was not right. Something was not there yesterday or any other days before that.

A bouquet of flowers in a vase was standing in all of its glory innocently on one side of Sakura's table. The flowers were of the prettiest pink and as seconds go by, he swore he could pick up the soft scent it was giving out.

Unable to control himself, he blurted out, "nice flowers."

Sakura looked up at him, confused for a moment until she followed where he was looking at.

"Oh," she said. "Thanks." Then, she went back to her work.

However, Syaoran could not be satisfied with just a thank you. It was not what he wanted to hear.

"What's the occasion?" he asked but it sounded quite demanding that Sakura had to raise one of her eyebrows at him.

"Do you need to know?" she retorted.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight if I'm kept like this in the dark," he replied, quite amused that they were actually starting to have one of their usual little conversations.

Before she could reply though, Shoya entered with the supplies and volunteered to inject him instead.

As if distracted, Sakura nodded a yes. It was over before he knew it and he could tell that Shoya was silently asking him what he was still doing there. When he still did not make a move, Shoya just assumed he wanted to rest for a little bit so he left it at that and exited the room, leaving the two alone.

"Sakura," he called out to her.

She looked up instantly. "Oh, you're still here," she said absentmindedly. She looked around the room and noticed that Shoya was done giving him his shots. "…Why are you still here?"

"What's the occasion and who are those from?" he sounded agitated. He didn't mean to sound agitated and eager but he needs to know.

Sakura had to smirk seeing how demanding Syaoran was getting. She had to admit that she was enjoying the situation he was in right now. Just look at him, his forehead was creased in between his eyebrows and he was slightly pouting. He was also close to turning red in impatience.

"It's my birthday," she finally replied, deciding to end his misery. "They're from my best friend."

"Best friend who's a girl or a boy?" Syaoran asked.

And she thought he would be fine with her answer already. She thought he would just let it go and greet her happy birthday. I mean, that would be what a normal person would do but what was up his derriere?

"If you really must know, a girl," she answered.

Relief washed over his face and he finally let go of the breath he was holding. He stood up from his chair and suddenly felt very light – as if a heavy burden had just been lifted up from his chest.

"Well," he said before making his way towards the door. "Happy birthday. I wish you all the best. And you look lovely today."

Sakura was then confused. _What's with the formalities? And did he just say…_

"Are you just saying that because it's my birthday?" she asked him curiously.

"No, I said that because it's the truth," he replied confidently. With one last smile, he left her office, leaving her once again, confused by his actions.

* * *

Sakura thought she had gotten used to the flirtatious remarks from the inmate. She does get it every day. However, there was something about Syaoran that just felt so fresh and new to her.

It was not the first time she was called lovely by an inmate so why the hell was she blushing when he said it to her?

Was it because he sounded so sincere? His words sounded so genuine and true to her ears that she wondered where has he been all her life. Why did they meet just now? Why did they have to meet in that wretched place?

_It's not fair_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Syaoran was comfortably lying down on his bed, not bothered by the fact that he was doing nothing. Yamazaki was too busy on his bed drawing something so he could not really talk to anyone.

Unusually enough, the other inmates were also quiet and seemed busy.

He welcomed the temporary peace and began thinking what he could possibly give to Sakura for her birthday. But he was in a freakin' prison! What could he give her? His pen? His toothpaste? His cologne?

Syaoran had never been a creative person. In his opinion, the best gift he had ever given was a silver necklace for each of his sisters with their Chinese names as the pendant. He thought of it by himself and that was the best thing he could come up with on their 18th birthday. He doesn't even remember giving Meilin a proper gift. He usually asks his sisters for ideas and advices but who could he ask now?

A light bulb just flashed on top of his head as Yamazaki quickly went down from his top bunk. Syaoran smirked as he faced the artist in front of him.

"I don't like the way you're looking at me, buddy," Yamazaki said, shivering.

Syaoran just grinned most evilly.

"Say, _buddy_, you're an artist, you're creative," Syaoran was saying. "Can you help me out with my tiny problem?"

"What's your problem?" Yamazaki asked, not really sure if it was safe to ask.

"You see, today's Sakura's birthday," Syaoran began.

"How did you know that!" Yamazaki bellowed.

"She told me this morning," Syaoran replied nonchalantly.

Yamazaki just nodded, but he looked unconvinced.

"She did, okay?" Syaoran said defensively. "I'm not a stalker. Anyway… I was hoping if you can help me think of a gift for her."

Yamazaki shrugged and smirked at his direction. "Well, I don't think I can help you with this one," Yamazaki said truthfully. "You see those guys?" he nodded his head towards the other prisoners. "They're preparing something for Sakura – that's what I heard. I think they're having a mini competition or something. They just need to think of something on how to give it to Sakura."

"Your point is?"

"If they knew I helped you, I'll get beaten up and you've seen how fragile Chiharu is, I can't afford to get beaten up in here."

"Then it will just be our little secret," Syaoran pushed.

"No," Yamazaki said strongly but doubled back seeing how helpless Syaoran is. He groaned. "She likes pink, that's all I can tell you," he said quickly before going back to bed.

* * *

Sakura was waiting patiently for her last patient of the day. It was no other than Syaoran – she was going to give him his evening shot and that would be it for her that day. She was granted to leave early for the sake of being on time for her own birthday party and a pre-party for Tomoyo's show the next day.

"Guess what?" Shoya walked inside her office.

"What is it?" she asked enthusiastically.

She was just having a good day – despite the mind games Syaoran was playing with her.

"I'm going to drive you to your house tonight," But none of it registered in Sakura's mind. Her full attention was on Syaoran who just walked inside the room and who was glaring at the back of Shoya's head.

She noticed this and shooed Shoya as politely as possible out of her office so she could deal with her patient.

"Sit down," Sakura commanded him.

Syaoran did as he was told to. "You in a hurry?" he could not stop himself from asking. What was the deal with the dude a while ago? "You have a date with that guy or something?"

Sakura raised one of her eyebrows at him inquisitively. "Why are you asking?"

Syaoran looked away. "No reason," he muttered, but there was a reason!

He was becoming more frustrated as seconds go by as he thought about the fact that he was stuck inside the prisoner and Sakura could do whatever she wants outside of the walls. Huh, why does he care so much anyway?

He was _so_ hooked.

He rubbed the back of his forehead in irritation after Sakura injected him.

"What's wrong?" Sakura just had to ask.

"It's not fair," he was pouting like a small child.

"What's not fair?" asked a very confused Sakura.

"Life," he spat out. "My life."

Sakura then felt disturbed. She was screaming inside her head – _no, Li, don't go all emo on me. I would have to stay longer if you need some counseling right now. And I don't have time for this_!

"Listen, Li," she started slowly. "I don't really know how hard it is to be in prison but I think I can grasp the idea but you got to know that every prisoner is experiencing what you are feeling right now… so don't feel alone or anything and don't feel awkward about it."

Syaoran smirked as he listened to Sakura's little speech. He knew what she was talking about but it was not exactly the reason why he was moping around. He also knew that what she said made sense and he supposed that she was not aware her words could mean something way beyond what she was meaning to say.

"If you feel the need to talk, we can always schedule a counseling appointment," she continued but deep inside her thoughts was _but not now, okay? Some other time. Some other time. _

Syaoran's smirk more and just looked intensely as Sakura rambled on. Finally, he stood up.

There was only a small gap between the two. Slowly, he took something out of his pocket and put it in front of Sakura's face.

Sakura was then facing a small paper rose made out of red paper. She could tell though that the paper was originally a normal white paper and Syaoran used a red pen to color the entire paper back to back!

"Happy birthday," he said softly, smiling.

Sakura was still looking at the object presented to her and slowly reached out to take it. It looked so delicate in her hands and she observed it more carefully and was impressed with the artwork.

"Thank you," she breathed out, a grin playing on her lips.

"Sorry – it's the best I can do," Syaoran explained. "I was going to make it pink but... I can't find anything pink around my cell. I mean, you do understand that I lack resources right?"

"I like it, actually," she admitted. "It's meticulously done." When she finally recovered from her awe, she said in a non-daze tone, "you didn't have to give me something."

"I wanted to give you something, though."

"Well, thank you very much," Sakura said one last time.

"You're welcome," he replied.

The two remained standing still until Syaoran realized that if he doesn't leave now, he wouldn't be able to leave at all. He stepped away from her and got ready to leave.

"Happy birthday again," he said courteously and started walking out the door.

"Thanks," she muttered as he watched him walk away from her. "Oh and Li," she called and he turned to look at her. "What's not fair in your life?"

He was caught off guard with the question that he dropped his hand that was holding the door knob.

"The fact that I'm going to rot here," he said with bitterness unintentionally but Sakura sensed the resentment in his voice.

What she didn't catch though was there was something more that is unfair in his life.

_And the fact that I can never be with… you_. _As much as I want to..._

* * *

**To be continued…**


	5. Maybe, just maybe

**Behind Bars  
**By: DEVILZ CHIK

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**Author's Notes: **I just read the previous chapter and I think it was sappy so uhm… I'm just going to warn you that you might be shocked with the turnabouts of this chapter. I tried my best. Please review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own CCS. I don't own Prison Break, where this plot is based on.

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Syaoran walked back to his cell with a smug look on his face. The looks that the other prisoners were sending his way was not clearing up his mood. Rather, their glares and impolite mutters about him were only worsening his already sour mood.

He slumped down on his bed, surprising Yamazaki on the top bunk who was sketching before Syaoran disturbed his peace.

"You better have a good reason why you caused me to put a stupid line in the wrong place of my drawing," Yamazaki drawled.

Syaoran remained silent.

The silence was not satisfying for the artist. He jumped down from his bunk to sit down on the chair near Syaoran's bed. "What's your problem?" Yamazaki asked. "Sakura didn't accept your gift?" No answer. "… And you worked hard on it." He paused; Syaoran was not even looking at him.

Yamazaki finally sighed getting no answer from his cellmate. "Don't worry about it, man," he said, getting ready to go back to his bunk. "You're still lucky you get to see her everyday – some of the guys don't even get a glimpse of her for about a month."

Syaoran huffed and finally acknowledged Yamazaki's presence.

"I gave her my gift," Syaoran explained. "It's just that… I've been thinking and I'm painfully realizing how there's no point, you know."

"What do you mean?" Yamazaki asked, obviously confused.

"There's no point," Syaoran repeated, frustrated. "There's no point in any of this. I would rot here for seven years and she's gonna go on with her life. For her, I'm probably just another inmate." Syaoran paused for a moment as another thought came to him.

Yamazaki listened on.

"_Exactly_. For her, I'm just another inmate," it was clear then that Syaoran was really voicing out what was on his head. "I'm crazy for thinking that something would result out of what I'm doing," Syaoran paused again then looked at Yamazaki. "I don't even know what I'm doing!"

The new inmate looked like he was ready to pull out his hair.

"What am I _even_ doing, Yamazaki?" he sounded so desperate for answers. But his newly found friend could not provide him with those. "Do I really even like her? Or is it just because she's the only woman I see in this facility?"

"I'm sorry, man," Yamazaki said, shaking his head. "I'm not a counselor or anything. One thing I can tell you, though – I think you definitely like her. You see her in a different way compared to the other guys here who drool just at the sight of her."

Syaoran looked helpless and more confused than ever. What was Sakura doing to him? How come she had such an impact on him like that? They just met and barely knew each other; yet, the tension and attraction was there. Well, for him, that is. He was not exactly sure if Sakura was feeling the same way.

But, was it wrong to think that maybe, just _maybe_, this wasn't at all one-sided.

* * *

The party at Sakura's house was lively and very joyful. There weren't many guests but all knew each other, creating a comfortable atmosphere around Sakura's humble home. Her co-worker, Shoya, had been mingling perfectly well with her friends and she was more than happy to end her day with all of them.

Sakura was sitting quietly on her couch, listening to a story Naoko was telling everyone. She suddenly noticed a distracted Tomoyo by the window. She quietly stood up, not wanting to interrupt Naoko's story to approach her long-time best friend.

"Hey, girl," she said, making Tomoyo jump in surprise.

"Sakura, don't scare me like that," Tomoyo scolded but afterwards, she went back looking out to the window.

Sakura, feeling concerned what was causing her friend to be so absentminded, stepped closer.

"Tomoyo, is something bothering you?" Sakura asked. "Are you feeling nervous about your show tomorrow?"

Tomoyo shook her head. "It's not that," she said in a low voice. "Sakura…" she said slowly, taking a deep breath. "I invited someone today – and I really want you to meet him and…"

Sakura stopped her from going on. "Him?" she arched a questioning eyebrow.

Tomoyo forced herself not to blush. She avoided Sakura's eyes. "The point is… he's not here yet," Tomoyo said. "But I want you to meet him. He's awesome and he's great. Smart, too. And… He's just perfect."

Sakura did not miss the dreamy look in Tomoyo's eyes. _Oh dear, she's hooked_, she concluded. She smiled inwardly. It was always great knowing your friends were having such a nice life.

"And why, may I ask, haven't you told me about him before?" Sakura inquired, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I just wanted to get to know a little better first, you know," Tomoyo explained. "I mean, I wouldn't want to introduce just _some_ guy to my best friend."

Sakura smiled at that and looked out the window as well.

She knew deep inside that Tomoyo would find someone for her someday. Was this guy the one? Was this guy the one who could possible take her best friend away from her?

She shivered at that thought and let the silence fall upon them.

Minutes later, a car neatly parked across Sakura's street. Tomoyo beamed and ran towards the door. Sakura followed her friend to welcome the late guest.

The guest walked towards Sakura's front steps and was clearly surprised that the door was open for him and Tomoyo was there already.

"I was thinking of something to say when you're not the one who will open the door," the guest told Tomoyo. Sakura was only behind Tomoyo and wished she knew where Tomoyo's camera was. Man, now she knew how excited Tomoyo gets when she wants to capture a moment.

"Come inside," Tomoyo said enthusiastically, taking a hold of his hand. "I want you to meet my best friend."

Tomoyo closed the door and met Sakura in the hallway. All the other guests were busy in the living room.

"Sakura, this is Hirigazawa Eriol," Tomoyo said cheerfully. "Eriol, meet my ultimate best friend, Kinomoto Sakura."

The two shook hands. Eriol was smiling politely at Sakura and she could tell that he was feeling awkward in the situation.

"I'm glad to finally meet you," Eriol told her. "Tomoyo talks a lot about you."

Sakura gave Tomoyo a look. "It's nice to meet you, too," was all she said as she studied the man in front of her.

He was probably in his late twenties. He was tall – taller than she expected. But he was exactly the guy that she could picture Tomoyo with. His dark blue hair was a total match with his sparkling blue eyes hidden behind his spectacles.

"This is for you, by the way," Eriol said, handing out a box in front of her. "Happy birthday."

Sakura was flattered at the gesture. "You didn't have to get me something," she said shyly. Man, was this guy smart or what? He absolutely knew how to soften himself up with his girlfriend's best friend!

"Tomoyo said you like chocolate cakes," Eriol continued. "And uhm, The Chocolate Shop makes the best chocolates so…"

Sakura suddenly grinned hearing her favorite chocolate shop. "It happens to be where I buy most of my chocolates," Sakura told him, receiving the box from him. "You found someone good, Tomoyo," she told her best friend, turning towards the kitchen to refrigerate her cake.

Tomoyo and Eriol followed her to the kitchen as Eriol hadn't had dinner yet. There was a reserved meal for him and Tomoyo prepared it for him. Sakura decided to stick around, wanting to know more about this Eriol guy.

As Tomoyo was busy heating up the soup, Sakura turned towards Eriol who was sitting in one of her kitchen stools by the counter. She handed him a glass of orange juice.

"You have a really nice place here," Eriol said sincerely. "You live here alone?"

"Yeah," Sakura answered, taking a seat across from him. "I had my eye on this place ever since I graduated from college. Tomoyo was going to live here with me but she got her own unit before I got this place so yeah…"

Tomoyo turned towards them as she heard her name. "I told her to move in with me at my unit but she really likes this place."

"It's a really nice place," Eriol complimented again.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Hirigazawa-san."

Eriol almost choked on his drink hearing her address him so formally. "Just call me Eriol, please," he told her. "My last name is a bit a breath taker."

"Call me Sakura, then," Sakura said just as genuinely.

Tomoyo then set a plate in front of Eriol. "I'm glad you guys are getting along but conversations are nice over dinner," Tomoyo chirped and placed the bowls of rice and the main course on the counter as well.

"Ano… am I the only one eating?" Eriol asked, uneasily.

"Well, everyone had dinner already," Tomoyo replied. "And they are all now pigging out on pizza and chips in the living room…"

"I don't want to be the only one eating," Eriol muttered towards Tomoyo. He glanced cautiously towards Sakura who was now on her way to the fridge.

"No need to concern yourself with anything," Sakura convinced him. "I'm going to give everyone a round of deserts. You won't feel lonely for eating alone."

Sakura then took out a tray of chocolate pudding parfait from the fridge and included teaspoons on her way out of the kitchen. From where Eriol and Tomoyo were, they could hear the enthusiastic cheers from the guests in the living room as Sakura announced, "Tomoyo's famous chocolate puddings!"

Eriol looked at Tomoyo inquisitively. "Your pudding seems to be famous among everyone," he remarked.

Tomoyo blushed and sat down beside him and watched him eat. They were then in a deep conversation on how their days went. Oblivious to them, Sakura was by the door watching them speak quietly to each other.

Minutes later, Sakura decided to proclaim her presence in the room. She held out the tray containing three parfaits – one for each of them. "Dig in, Eriol," Sakura said energetically after taking a bit out of her parfait. "If you think she's good at designing clothes, she's much better in making desserts."

Eriol laughed at that. Tomoyo helped herself with her own masterpiece but stopped midway when Eriol started eating his own. She waited for his reaction and beamed when Eriol held up his thumb.

"This is the best I've ever tasted," Eriol said as he savored another bite. "Tomoyo, you're great. I'm glad I'm not diabetic."

Hearing the word _diabetic_, Sakura suddenly remembered Syaoran and the paper rose that was now lying on her night stand upstairs. She dropped her spoon on the counter as she realized that she had seen or heard Eriol's name before.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, concerned as her friend just displayed a dazed look.

"Yeah," Sakura replied, shaking her head. She picked up her spoon slowly and washed it then went back to eating. "I just…" she continued as Eriol and Tomoyo waited for her to explain further. "I'm sure I've heard your name somewhere before."

She pointed her spoon at Eriol's direction.

"I've come across your name," Sakura said, more convinced than ever. "I just don't remember where."

She searched and searched in her mind where she had heard his name before. She was sure she'd seen his name before. And how come she recognized his name to be familiar when she remembered Syaoran?

_No_, she groaned inwardly. _He's the guy Li attacked. He's the reason why Li's in jail._

"Sakura?" Tomoyo was calling her back to earth again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, of course, I'm okay," she said, digging her spoon on her parfait only to discover that she had finished it. "Tomoyo-chan, I want more," she said childishly, the spoon still on her mouth.

Tomoyo chuckled at this. "I'll make you next week," she promised which made Sakura jump in glee. She then noticed that Eriol was still in the room so she blushed in embarrassment at her immaturity.

To get out of the situation, she placed her cup on the sink and washed it. Tomoyo and Eriol finished their afterwards and she was nice enough to wash it for them. As she was cleaning the sink after washing, she looked absent-minded again, thinking of Eriol's relationship with Syaoran.

She could not believe that that person was inside her house. More to that, he was her best friend's boyfriend. And they were actually going along well.

"Sakura-chan!" Chiharu's voice boomed in the kitchen. "Everyone's finished with their desserts." The girl walked towards Sakura to the sink, not noticing the guest that was beside Tomoyo.

Chiharu placed the empty cups on the sink carefully and washed her hands clean. "Man, Tomoyo, you make the best pudding in the world," she received the towel Sakura handed her and that was when Chiharu saw Eriol. "Oh, who do we have here?"

She arched an eyebrow at Tomoyo who laughed nervously.

"This is Hirigazawa Eriol," Tomoyo introduced, anyway. "Eriol, this is Mihara Chiharu."

Eriol and Chiharu shook hands across the counter. And then, "Tomoyo-chan, now that you've fed your guest, I guess it's time to introduce him to everyone, ne?" Chiharu said. "It's also dancing time soon."

Tomoyo had no choice but to lead Eriol in the living room. Sakura followed after them, telling herself that it didn't matter that the person Syaoran attacked was in her house.

_Yeah, it doesn't matter._

* * *

Syaoran did not get enough sleep that night. Sakura was all in his head and he kept thinking as to why fate was so cruel to him. Out of all the places, why did they have to meet inside the high walls of the penitentiary? Why did she have to catch his attention?

He was walking lazily to the clinic that morning. It didn't even matter to him that he would be seeing Sakura soon. He just really needed to rest some more.

"Good morning," Sakura's assistant, Shoya, greeted him.

Syaoran entered Sakura's office and figured out that Sakura was not there. "Where's Sakura?" he asked, not hesitating this time.

"Oh, she's going to be here after lunch," Shoya answered then plunged the needle into his skin. "She slept in, I guess. She had a blast yesterday. Her party and all…"

Syaoran knew that Shoya was telling him too much but he didn't mind. He was glad that Sakura had fun on her birthday. He just wished he could have been there to see her smile and laugh with her friends.

"That's all," Shoya told him, after handing him a cotton ball so that he could nurse his newly injected skin. "I'll see you later."

When he left the infirmary, he felt incomplete.

When he was out in the yard after lunch, he was still completely out of it. He couldn't think straight and he knew… He knew that it was because he hadn't seen Sakura. Or maybe it was because he hadn't gotten enough sleep.

Whatever it was, he was really having a bad day.

Isolated near the fences of the yard, he was letting his head cool off but Sakura's fan club (the same people who had beaten him up a few weeks ago) approached him.

He stood up to face them eye to eye. He had no time for this. Were they planning to beat him up again?

"You gave a gift to Sakura?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Syaoran replied moodily. He was obviously unaffected on how intimidating the other inmates looked.

One guy threw a punch at him out of anger but he quickly dodged it.

"Stay away from her!" the same guy growled, clenching his fist some more.

Syaoran held his ground and looked at each of them. He couldn't believe he let these guys beat him up before.

"I can't stay away from her," Syaoran said coolly. "I have to get my shots. And even if I don't need my shots, I wouldn't stay away from her just because you told me to."

And that was when the fight began. Two guys sent him a kick on the side simultaneously but they didn't hit him. Syaoran remained on the defense after a few more attempted punches and kicks before he decided to take the fight on the next level and started fighting back.

He was not going to let these guys beat him up again. It would mean another sleepless night.

He managed to land punches on each of the guy's jaws until being outnumbered really became his disadvantage. He was then on the ground, like weeks ago, being kicked very hard by Sakura's fan club.

The pain was shooting up to his head. His bruises that haven't been completely healed from his last fight was throbbing and doubling the pain that he was feeling. Due to the countless amounts of blows he was currently receiving, he would not be surprised if one of his ribs had already been broken. His abdomen hurt.

His whole body was aching.

And he couldn't do anything about it.

Maybe it would be better if he would die at that moment.

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**Author's Notes:  
**Sorry to leave it there, readers! Sorry for the horrible description of the fight. I haven't seen people fighting in my life. Never been beaten up so I don't know what it feels like – all I know is that it hurts. And I just realized Sakura and Syaoran did not meet at all in this chapter. I'm sorry for that. Next chapter, I promise, will be filled with SS moments! Syaoran will be in the infirmary for a long time, after all. 

Please review!

**End of Chapter 5. **

_xx_ **DEVILZ CHIK**


	6. Small world, after all

**Behind Bars  
**_By: _DEVILZ CHIK

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**Author's Notes:  
**A quite promising chapter awaits you. Read on. And have I told you that I am not planning to keep Syaoran in jail for seven years? Yeah, just a tiny bit of information you need to know.

**Disclaimer:  
**_I don't own CCS. _

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__-_

**

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Chapter 6: Small world, after all

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Sakura entered the infirmary after lunch with a big smile on her face. She definitely had a great time last night and she was more than pleased that the warden allowed her to be late for today. The warden was, after all, almost the 'big daddy' in the place.

She was still laughing inside her head when she saw Shoya eating his lunch on his table outside her office.

"Good morning, my lady," he greeted her playfully.

"Good morning to you, too," Sakura chirped. "Anything happened while I was gone?"

As if on cue, they a saw a bed with wheels being rushed inside the emergency room by the jail guards. Shoya stood up quickly, forgetting about his lunch and ran towards the room with Sakura.

"Doc, you're here!" the commanding officer beamed when he turned around to see Sakura ready to check on the patient who looked badly hurt.

"What happened to him?" she asked, walking over to the patient and shooing the guards around the bed. When she got a good look at the patient, her eyes widened as she turned to the same commanding officer. "What happened to him?!" Now, she was clearly demanding for answers.

She began her work on cleaning some of the external wounds of Syaoran. His face had some bad hits. _He would need stitches_, Sakura was thinking. Carefully, she cut Syaoran's shirt in the middle and with the help of Shoya, the shirt was removed from Syaoran's exhausted body.

Syaoran was half–conscious and he was not quite aware of what was happening around him. The pain he was feeling was unbearable and all he wished was for everything to end. He could also feel soft hands on his body and for a moment, the contact with those hands was almost comforting.

The commanding officer still had not answered her.

"I expect the guys who did this are already in Solitary?" Sakura asked again, examining Syaoran's arm. It was broken.

"Yes, they are," the commanding officer said gruffly. "They need some fixing up, too. That guy gave them quite good punches."

"I'm sure it's nothing compared to his wounds," Shoya commented as he handed Sakura a cotton ball to clean off the dried blood on Syaoran's face.

"Well, Doc, I'm just here to say that once you're got him all cleaned up, I need to bring him to Solitary as well."

"I decide when my patient needs to leave the infirmary," Sakura snapped. "… and it's not when I'm done cleaning him up."

"He needs to be punished as well, Doc," the officer reasoned out.

Sakura was aware what the Solitary was and she just could not bear Syaoran being in that small cramped room with all of his injuries. That room could cause inmates to lose his sanity as well as to lose the thread of hope that they have been desperately been holding on. No, she would not let them send Syaoran there in such a vulnerable state.

An hour and a half later, Shoya and Sakura finished. Syaoran was all cleaned up, bandaged and stitched. He had a cast on his broken arm and he was changed into one of the hospital gowns (Shoya changed him).

They set down the curtains around his bed to let him sleep for a while.

Sakura washed her hands and sighed.

"He shouldn't be in the Solitary in such a state," Shoya spoke out.

She gave him a tired smile. "Yes, I know," she told him. "And he wouldn't be."

"I hate those officers," Shoya grunted. "I bet they waited until he was clearly beaten up until they stopped the fight. They all just wanted a good show."

"Men," she muttered under breath.

"Not all men are like that!" Shoya defended.

"You know what I mean," Sakura said.

Shoya just smiled at her and picked up a toolbox with medical supplies. "I'll check on those who are in Solitary," he said, exiting the door. "I sent Jin there, but you know how he gets around agitated prisoners."

Sakura waved at him and when he was out the door, she walked towards Syaoran's bed.

He was sleeping peacefully to say the least. He had a patch on the right side of his forehead above his stitched eyebrow. His left eye was bruised but his nose was fine. Out of all his injuries, Sakura was surprised that his lips and nose were undamaged.

His lips were untouched. She found herself staring at those and unconsciously, she was leaning closer. He began stirring, though, causing her to pull back and blush madly.

She watched as he searched his way to consciousness. Once his eyes were opened, he brought his well conditioned hand up to his face.

"No…" he said under his breath when he touched his stitched eyebrow. He then moved to his bruised eye and cringed at the pain. "No…" He then moved to his nose and lips and he had to crack a smile when he realized those were okay.

He then felt something heavy on his right arm and groaned at that. "Great," he said sarcastically. He still was not aware of Sakura's presence. "Just great."

"Are you hurting somewhere?" Sakura finally asked.

Syaoran turned to the sound of the voice and he was mildly surprised to see Sakura right there. He thought for a moment that maybe it was a dream. But it couldn't be. Those soft hands from a while ago must have belonged to her.

Looking at her brought back his feelings from last night.

_I'm crazy for thinking that something would result out of what I'm doing._

He frowned at this and felt his chest tightening.

"My chest hurts a little," he managed to speak out as he grabbed hold of the hospital gown he was wearing.

Sakura quickly went towards the medical cabinet and prepared a glass of water. She handed Syaoran a pill and helped him drink it down.

"Your uhm… abdomen looks pretty bad," Sakura said slowly. "You'll be hurting there the most, I guess. You're lucky none of your ribs are broken, though. Just rest for a while, okay?"

He nodded mutely. But he knew that he was on for a sleepless night again. He stared on at the ceiling, refusing to look at Sakura straight in the eye.

It was painful to be so close to her yet be unable to be with her.

"The painkillers I just gave you will help you sleep," Sakura said. "They're pretty strong."

"Thank you," he said softly.

From the window of the room, Sakura could see the same officer who had brought Syaoran there. Sakura excused herself from Syaoran and went out of the room. Syaoran turned to the window and saw Sakura conversing with the officer.

"I see he's awake now," was the first thing the officer told Sakura. "Can I escort him to the Solitary Chamber now?"

"No," Sakura replied strongly. "He's still in pain and we still need to check on his condition. He received an unusual beating, officer. He was outnumbered and received blows meant for two people."

"Are you sure it's not because you just want to keep that 'hot stuff' in your infirmary, Doc?" the officer accused.

Sakura almost slapped the officer but smirked afterwards. "Are you sure you're going to bring him to the Solitary, not in your room?"

With that, the officer turned red in anger and walked away. Sakura stuck out her tongue at the officer when he had his back on her. She went inside to Syaoran's room silently and walked to his bed.

She was taken aback when she found him still awake. She thought the painkillers would work on him by now.

"You should really try to sleep," she told him.

"Say, what business did you have with the officer?" Syaoran had to ask her. He found it absolutely funny when Sakura stuck out her tongue at the officer.

"Oh, he just wanted you to be in the Solitary already," she was saying it so coolly. "But I told him that you can't leave the infirmary yet."

"I really can't leave the infirmary yet?"

"Of course you can't!" she snapped.

"Okay, okay," he said, smiling a little.

"Now, be a good patient and go to sleep," she said, arranging his covers.

By then, the painkillers were starting to work but he was hopelessly fighting it. He did not want to sleep yet – now that Sakura was just right there beside him, caring for him, showing off her concern for him openly. Although it was concern meant for a patient from his doctor, it was good enough for him.

"I don't want to sleep yet," he muttered sleepily and Sakura caught his words.

She just clicked her tongue in response and checked his dextrose for the last time. "And why is that?" she asked him curiously.

"I want to talk to you more," he was pouting now and slowly, he let his eyes close.

Sakura smiled at his response and when she was sure that Syaoran had gone off to Sleepy Land, she brushed away some of his bangs away from his wounded forehead. Her hand lingered on his face unconsciously and without her noticing, Syaoran cracked a small smile feeling her touch.

* * *

"Rules are rules, Doc," the same officer was telling her outside the room where Syaoran was peacefully sleeping.

It had been two hours now since Syaoran had fallen asleep and since then, the officer was pestering her to sign the check-out papers so that Syaoran would be moved to the Solitary Chamber.

"Why am I getting the feeling that you really don't want to release that guy?" the officer stated.

Shoya was listening close by, annoyance clear on his face. He never liked the commanding officer. He sure had heard stories of him torturing the prisoners with every chance he gets. If you think Shoya hated the prisoners, the officer was way overboard with his hatred towards them.

Shoya could also see that Sakura just had had enough of that guy. The officer was clearly implying that Sakura was favoring Syaoran, but that was not the case. Syaoran really needed to be under their care for a while.

"I believe that I have told you this before," Sakura said as calmly as possible. "But according to the rules, _I_ decide when the prisoner gets out of infirmary. I expect that this is your last visit here, officer. I have no more business with you."

With those final words, Sakura walked away from the officer and returned to Syaoran's room to check up on him. The officer made a move to follow her but Shoya was quick enough to stop him.

"You're not going there, officer," Shoya said warningly. Although the older guy looked intimidating, he would not back off. "The patient needs some rest."

The officer only looked at him disgustedly and stormed off to the exit. Shoya only sighed and glanced to the window of the room. The curtain around Syaoran's bed was set aside as Sakura checked on his condition.

As he stood outside, he watched as Sakura lightly felt Syaoran's wrist for his pulse. Had Sakura always handled patients as carefully as that? Before his suspicions grew, the telephone from Sakura's office began ringing. Seeing Sakura was still busy, he decided to get it for her.

"Hello. Doctor Kinomoto's office," he answered, slightly panting as he ran to the office.

A timid voice came from the other line. "Is Sakura there?" the caller asked.

"May I ask who's calling, please?" he asked politely. Somehow, he recognized the sweet voice but he could not put a name with it.

"Daidouji Tomoyo," Tomoyo said. "Is this… Shoya-kun?"

Shoya smiled at his slowness for not recognizing the voice earlier. She did perform awesome songs last night for her best friend.

"She's with a patient right now, but hold on; I think she can get to you."

"Thank you," Tomoyo said. After that, Shoya pressed the hold button and hung up the phone. He knew there was a phone in Syaoran's room as there was a small office there. He walked back to where Sakura was as quickly as he could and told her that Tomoyo was on the line.

Sakura thanked him and went to the phone. "Tomoyo-chan?" she said through the phone.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo's voice was frantic. "I have a _big_ dilemma right now."

"What is it?" asked Sakura worriedly. She turned her back away from where Syaoran was lying.

"Okaa-san wants to meet Eriol," Tomoyo revealed and Sakura had to force herself not to chuckle.

"I don't see any problem in that, Tomoyo," Sakura said easily. "Why don't you just introduce him to her? I'm sure Auntie will love him."

"But, Sakura!" Tomoyo protested. "Isn't that, like, a big step? Introducing your boyfriend to your mother? And right _after_, you introduce him to all of your close friends? I can't handle this!"

"All of our friends seemed to like him last night," Sakura explained. Slowly, Sakura turned to look at Syaoran's sleeping form. _Eriol was the reason why Syaoran's in here_, she started thinking as her eyes fixed on Syaoran. "You don't need to worry about anything," she said slowly, trying to reassure her best friend.

She heard Tomoyo sigh. "I guess I'm freaking out for nothing," Tomoyo said. "Mom will surely like him, right? And besides, he brings himself well in front of others. I don't know how he does it."

"He sure does," Sakura agreed, remembering how Eriol charmed her with a box of chocolate cake so that she would accept him as her best friend's boyfriend.

"It's nice talking to you, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo's gratitude was evident even over the phone. Sakura had to smile at that. "And oh, you said last night that you seem to have heard his name somewhere?" Tomoyo paused. "Well," her voice seemed to have dropped. "I didn't want to tell you last night in front of him. But, he was kind of all over the news three months ago. He was attacked by one of his colleagues and it was such a big deal since they were working on one of the strongest companies in the country. He was devastated. He saw that guy as his best friend and he almost killed him."

"Tomoyo…" Sakura tried to cut her off but Tomoyo kept talking.

"The guy's in jail now," Tomoyo continued then Sakura heard her gasp. "He's in WS Penitentiary!" Syaoran had started to stir and Sakura suddenly straightened up, ready to come to him. "Sakura, have you met him?"

"In fact, he's ten steps away from me, recently beaten up by other inmates," Sakura said, trying to sound as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"You're kidding!" Tomoyo was clearly surprised. "What a small world!"

"Yup, small world it is," Sakura mumbled. "Listen, Tomoyo, I got to go now. He just woke up and I need to check on him. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Oh, okay," Tomoyo sounded as if she wanted to talk more. "Thanks again, Sakura! I'll see you later, right?"

"Of course," Sakura replied. "I'll be there at your show tonight."

* * *

Syaoran had a nightmare. As he opened his eyes and sunk in his surroundings, he remembered that he was in one of the rooms of the infirmary. The images from his dream were somewhat glued to his eyes and he kept in mind to ask Sakura for some pills later to give him a dreamless sleep.

Eriol was in his dream. Syaoran was trying to explain to him that the culprit was not him but Eriol kept ignoring him – he refused to listen to any word he was saying. As Eriol walked away from him, he was swallowed by the darkness and was being pulled down endlessly by invisible hands. He could hear the clatter of jail doors closing from a distance and that was when he shot awake.

Syaoran could vaguely remember what he did on the day Eriol was attacked, which was definitely his disadvantage when the investigation started. No one could even testify about his whereabouts on that day so everyone was convinced that he did go to Eriol's office that night, demanding a larger share of the company.

First of all, Syaoran thought that he had no intention of having a larger share of the company and that he was perfectly fine with how much he had already. He also knew that Eriol would definitely not agree with him – most of all if he hadn't had a valid, rational reason. He would not even try to suggest the idea to his long time friend.

If Eriol was indeed disappointed with Syaoran, then he was more disappointed of Eriol because he dared to believe the false footage of that night in his office and without a second thought, he threw away the precious friendship they had ever since they were young.

_I hope Meilin and my lawyers clear my name before I rot in here,_ he thought, sighing, then he noticed Sakura waking towards his bed.

He forced a smile at her as he could tell her eyes contained worry and concern.

"You had a good sleep?" she asked professionally.

"For the most part," he replied. "Sakura, do you have any dreamless pill locked up somewhere?"

Sakura was definitely surprised by his request. "We don't have that," she meekly responded. "At least I don't think so," she saw his face fell. "I'm sorry," she muttered and started fiddling with his dextrose.

"So, I heard you had a great party last night," he said in an attempt to fill the silence occupying the room and so that he would not dwell so much about his situation with Eriol.

Sakura quietly sat down on a chair beside his bed and faced him. She had a small smile on her face as she stared down at him. He had more color in his face now, despite how bruised it was.

"Yeah, I did," she replied casually as if they were two friends catching up. "All my friends came which was what I was hoping for."

"What about your brother? Did he come, too?" he asked and the moment the words left his mouth, he realized that the topic was out of line. They had argued about her personal life before and he did not want to be in bad terms with her again. Not when he was injured.

But, Sakura did not seem to mind. Surprisingly.

"No, he didn't come," she answered simply and inhaled deeply. "It didn't really matter. He's in Tokyo now – he's got some business to take care of there so… I wasn't really expecting him to come," she paused and avoided his eyes. Don't ask her why she was telling all these things to him. "My father sent a card, though. He's on the other side of Japan… discovering something."

She let out a laugh at that and then, she recognized the empty feeling in her heart. She was feeling lonely right at that moment since she was just realizing that she and her family were _really_ growing apart.

Syaoran tried to reach out to her, only to find out that he could barely lift up his broken arm. Sakura thanked him silently for the effort. How could he understand her so well? And how come she had that nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach that Syaoran was innocent?

… That he was not the one who assaulted Eriol?

"Do you know Hirigazawa Eriol?" she blurted out, without having second thoughts about it. It was the right moment to talk about it and she just had to listen to her intuition.

Syaoran's eyes widened as the name escaped from Sakura's lips.

"What… How did you…" he was stuttering.

Sakura was still avoiding his questioning eyes as she started to explain, "You see, we have a small world," she stated with humor. "It just so happens that the person you _attacked_ and the person who convicted you is my best friend's boyfriend."

Syaoran did not know if he should continue to listen to her.

"…And it just so happens that he was at my party last night," she continued. "And I met him."

"Did he tell you anything?" he inquired.

"About you? No," she said. "We talked about a lot of things, though. He personally really liked my house and yeah…"

Syaoran remained silent.

Then, everything became uncomfortable.

_Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Eriol,_ she was thinking as she looked around the room except for the person in front of her. _What was I even thinking?_

Now, they did not know where the other stands. Gah, it would have been much simpler if their relationship was strictly doctor-patient. But no, he had to be infatuated with her. And, she had to meet someone that was connected to him.

"It wasn't me who attacked him," Syaoran said softly. Sakura almost did not hear him. "I know it wasn't me – I just wish he would believe that."

"He'd know someday," she said just as quietly,

Silence stretched out between them again. Sakura glanced at the clock and realized it was almost six.

"I'll just get something for you to eat, okay?" she then stood up but Syaoran, gathering up all his strength, grabbed her wrist. His grip was loose but Sakura could still feel him.

"You believe I'm innocent?" he asked her. Moments later, he had released her arm.

"Yeah, maybe," was her answer. "I'll believe in you more if you don't let those people beat you up again. This was the second time, Li. Why do you keep these things happening to you?"

Syaoran considered it to be rhetorical so he did not reply.

"Do you want to die here?"

He looked straight into her eyes but refused to answer her question again.

_If I do die here, I want to die in your arms._

_-  
__-_

* * *

**  
Author's Notes:**

I hope that was some development. I'm sorry if this doesn't meet your standards but I've got to end it here. More to come in the next chapter, I promise. And last chapter received the most reviews! I'm so glad! Please keep the reviews coming. I think I can consider myself as one of those authors who will do everything to update quickly with the increasing number of reviews. So, please review!

**End of Chapter Six**

_xx _DEVILZ CHIK


	7. Come closer, closer

**Behind Bars  
**_By: _DEVILZ CHIK

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Sorry for the long wait. I was busy with my other stories and busy with school. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Maybe it will be worth the wait.

**Disclaimer:  
**_I don't own CCS. _

* * *

**Previously…**

"_Do you want to die here?"_

_He looked straight into her eyes but refused to answer her question again. _

If I do die here, I want to die in your arms.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Come closer, closer

* * *

**

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo," Sakura was saying over the phone. She could clearly see Syaoran asleep on his bed. "I think I'm going to be late on your show tonight."

She could clearly hear in the background that the place was noisy and busy. She had to repeat herself so that Tomoyo could hear her and once she did, Sakura could definitely feel her friend's disappointment.

"A patient keeping you there?" Tomoyo asked, moving to a quieter place.

"Yeah, I just need to make sure that he's fine before I can leave," Sakura explained. "And a cop has his eye on him. I'm scared that if I leave, he's going to be mistreated or something."

Tomoyo did not reply and Sakura was actually worried.

"Tomoyo?"

"Look, Sakura," Tomoyo said. "There's no point coming late so you might just not come at all. Don't take it the wrong way… I'm not mad or anything. I totally understand your job. It's just that… if you get here late, you're going to forever regret missing the first part of the show so I'm saving you from that."

"Thanks for understanding, Tomoyo," Sakura said, smiling. From the window, she could see Shoya waving at her. "And Tomoyo? Shoya's going to be there, by the way. Keep him company for me?"

"Of course, Sakura," Tomoyo said light-heartedly. "So let me guess… you're taking care of the Li guy?"

It took Sakura a moment to reply. "Yeah," was Sakura's reply.

"Chiharu told me about him," Tomoyo excitedly said. "I heard he's a hunk and that you two have some sort of chemistry together." Sakura only snorted at that. "By the way, I haven't told Eriol that… you know…"

"I don't think it will pose a problem, Tomoyo," Sakura said.

"But that Li guy really stresses him out…" Tomoyo explained. "Well, anyway, it hasn't come up so I really have nothing to worry about. But oh, wait… can you make it to the party later tonight?" Sakura hesitated. "It will not be related to the show, I promise you."

"Okay, then, I guess I can make it."

"It's at the usual club," Tomoyo said hurriedly. "Okay, Sakura, they need me. I'll see you later around nine, okay?"

"Hai," Sakura answered but Tomoyo hang up before she said the word.

Syaoran was peacefully sleeping on his bed; his medication finally knocked him out. Sakura then noticed that Shoya was still outside the room so she approached him, closing the door behind her quietly.

"Aren't you going to go to Tomoyo's show also?" Shoya asked, noticing that Sakura still had her white coat on, while he was all ready to go.

"I can't, and I already told her," Sakura said sadly. "I can't leave Li like this, especially when that idiot keeps coming back for him every thirty minutes."

Shoya nodded in understanding. "I get it, I get it," he said. "Doctor's natural concern for her patients… I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

_And tomorrow after that, and after that, and after that…_

She watched as Shoya walked away from her until he turned to a corner so she could no longer see him. She sighed tiredly and went back to Syaoran's room. He was still asleep and Sakura could not be any more bored than she already was. She took out her phone and decided to play a game. She was enjoying herself until there was a knock on her door…

It was the same guard who kept bothering her about Syaoran.

Lazily, she opened the door and closed it behind her. She could not afford Syaoran to wake up – now that the stupid officer was here, waiting for him to open his eyes.

"Doc, he's not your only patient, you know," the officer told her.

"I know that," she said coolly. "The rest of my patients though are not in such a bad condition as he is."

"The rest of your patients are already in Solitary," the officer pointed out. "Maybe it's about time that you sign his release papers from the infirmary."

Sakura only stared at the taller man and was determined that she would not give in to his menacing voice. This was her duty. She was not going to let her patient in that condition to be in such a horrible place.

She would have done the same if it wasn't Syaoran, you know…

The officer sighed in defeat. "Fine, we'll take it up to the warden tomorrow," he said. "But, if he's going to stay in that room overnight," he paused and took out handcuffs, "…he's gonna have to wear this. That's procedure, Doc."

Sakura grabbed it from him. "I'll do it myself later," she said.

The officer just shrugged and argued no more. Sakura figured that maybe he wanted to go home and pass the responsibilities to the night shifters. She went back to the room and settled on her usual chair, still waiting for a change in Syaoran's condition.

She glanced at the clock. It was only 6 o' clock. She had at least 2 and a half hour with him.

Exhaling up to her bangs and taking off her white coat slowly, she thought of something to entertain herself while waiting for Syaoran to wake up. But she came up with none, so she settled on staring at his peaceful, sleeping figure.

The fact that his face was quite disheveled was not bothering at all because he maintained his good features.

Looking at him, she decided that someone like him doesn't deserve to be in a place like this.

Syaoran then stirred and groaned.

"Hey, you hurting somewhere?" she asked him softly, standing closely to him.

"Chest. Hurts," he managed to speak out. His eyes shut tight, his good arm clutching his hospital gown.

Sakura ran to fetch him a glass of water. "Have some water first," she told him. She helped him hold his head up so he can drink the water down.

The water soothed him slightly and he calmed down a bit. He opened his eyes to look at her thankfully. He then noticed that Sakura seemed to be having a predicament.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, confused. Was she so worried about him?

"I need to…" she could not seem to say the words out loud. "Can you sit up? I need to change your bandages…"

Syaoran nodded and tried to sit up with the help of Sakura. She arranged the pillows behind him so he can rest his back there. He then noticed that her materials to change his bandages are already prepared in the other room. She brought it to the table beside his bed.

And then, he realized why Sakura was uneasy about the situation.

She would have to remove his hospital gown.

He chuckled softly and Sakura's ears caught his amusement.

She glared at him. "There's nothing funny about this," she hissed.

"Aren't you supposed to be comfortable with this already?" he asked with humor. "How many patients have you had in this prison?"

"Shoya would always do…" she paused. "He would always do the changing of clothes and taking it off when it needs to be taken off. And then he mends the wounds."

Syaoran realized that Shoya was saving her from a traumatic experience, being aware how perverted the other prisoners are.

"Where's Shoya now?" he asked.

"He already left," she answered.

He suddenly felt tense himself.

"Sakura," he caught himself. "I mean, Kinomoto-san… You don't have to do this if you're uncomfortable about it."

She smiled at his concern.

"No, I have to do it," she told him. "You're in pain. I have to lessen the pain. That's what I'm here for." She reached behind him and unbuttoned the hospital gown. When she was on the last button by his waist, she looked at him straight in the eye, "…and I'm doing this because I expect you to not try anything funny."

She narrowed his eyes and accepted Syaoran's innocent smile.

Slowly and carefully, she pulled the hospital gown off of his upper body, revealing his bandaged torso. She told Syaoran to keep his arms up, while she takes off the bandages. However, Syaoran found this hard to do since the cast on his right arm was too heavy. So, he kept his right arm down and Sakura tried her best to take off the bandages as quickly as possible.

When the bandages were out of the way, Sakura took note of the wounds on Syaoran's stomach. She didn't realize how bad it was. He had no internal bleeding, which was good but someone must have had a hold of his upper body to have caused so much damage.

"Did someone like… scratch you or anything?" she asked oddly, looking at his wounds.

"No idea," he answered, looking at himself. "…but it stings like a bitch."

Sakura went on her work of cleaning the wounds. From time to time, Syaoran would wince and she would slow down on putting medicine on his wounds. She then kept cotton patches on the worst-looking wounds and got ready to put around his bandages. It was the same process… Sakura made sure though that the bandages were not so tight on his torso.

Syaoran found it weird that Sakura left his hospital gown open.

"Let it breathe for a while," she told him as she went her way to the small office and threw out the old bandages.

When Sakura went back beside him, she noticed the playful smile on his lips and did not like it.

"Are you sure you just don't want to see me topless?" he teased, leaning his back on the pillows.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, coz you're just too gorgeous-looking that I can't resist it," she said sarcastically.

He laughed again but stopped shortly when he felt pain on his tummy. He was hungry, too, he realized.

And just on time, one officer came to the room with a tray of food for him.

"Your assistant insisted that food be taken up here," the officer told her nicely. It was not the same officer as before – he also looked like he did not care whether Syaoran was there or in the Solitary Chamber.

He placed the tray of food on the table beside Syaoran's bed and handed a plastic bag to Sakura.

"He bought this for you, by the way," the officer said. "It's Chinese – he said you should finish it."

"Thank you very much, Officer…" she glanced at his ID. "Officer Matsumoto."

"I'll be outside the infirmary if you need anything," he told her one last time then he turned to Syaoran. "Get well soon, son." Then he left.

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other and laughed, knowing that they were thinking of the same thing.

"He's unusually nice," Syaoran commented.

"Yeah, he is," Sakura agreed and walked over to the small office to get the small stand for Syaoran's tray. She placed the tray in front of him and opened the lids of the food so it would be better for him.

She then looked at him concernedly. "Do you need help?" she asked him, referring to his broken right arm.

"No, it's okay," he told her. "I'm left-handed anyway."

Sakura only mouthed an 'Oh' and watched him eat successfully before getting satisfied and proceeding to her own packed dinner.

Syaoran's nose caught the smell of Chinese food coming out of the take-out box so he stopped eating to stare at Sakura, happily eating the dumplings and noodles.

She noticed his eyes on her. "Sorry, you can't have some," she said as strictly as possible. "You need some healthy food which is right there in front you."

Syaoran pouted and attacked his dry salad.

"You know what I really miss the most…" he said, starting a very nice conversation with her. He sounded so… reminiscent. She waited patiently for him to continue. "…Chocolates."

"You're diabetic," she pointed out.

"I know, I know," he said. "…But I used to love them a lot. I think it was because of chocolates that I became diabetic. When the doctors told me that I'd need insulin shots, I was devastated because I had to end my relationship with chocolates."

Sakura had to smile at how carefree Syaoran was talking. It seemed like they were not in Wolf State Penitentiary at all.

"At some point, I had a… withdrawal for chocolates," he chuckled at how ridiculous it sounded. "And all my friends made fun of me. I remember Eriol…" he paused and forced out a laugh. He continued nonetheless. "Yeah, Eriol… he used to tease me and eat chocolates in front of me just to taunt me."

"You guys seem really close," she stated.

"Yeah, we were," Syaoran just finished his salad. "Then that shit happened."

Sakura winced at his language, surprised that his mood suddenly changed.

"I'm sure you guys will be okay again," she assured him.

"If someone can prove to him that I'm innocent, then we'll be okay again," he said softly.

Comfortable silence filled the room as Sakura finished her dinner. When she was done, she cleaned up Syaoran's tray and buttoned up his hospital gown. She fixed his pillows behind him and helped him settle down on his bed after giving him his medicine.

It was only nearing 7:30…

She had one more hour to go. "Try to sleep, okay?" she told him then proceeded to her small office to take some notes on his file.

Syaoran watched her walk away and pondered on his situation. He was a mess right now. He could not help but feel that maybe it would be better if he just dies now. Would it even matter is he just disappears from this world?

Ten minutes later, she came back beside his bed to find him still with his eyes opened.

"Did you even _try_ to sleep?" she asked him.

Her voice rang in his ears.

On his first day there, after meeting Sakura… he had decided that she was his purpose.

He smirked; the light in the dark forest coming to his view as he searched for Sakura's eyes.

"Kinomoto-san," he said. "Can you come here to my left side, please?"

Although confused by his odd request, she walked to his left side.

"Come closer," he said, a seemingly innocent smile playing on his lips.

Eyebrows furrowed, she did what he said. She was leaning closer to him, figuring out that he wanted to whisper something to her, but she stopped at a safe distance.

But that was just the distance Syaoran was hoping for. Using his left hand, he brushed back her hair on the right side of her face and pulled her face closer to his.

Her eyes had already widened even before her lips crashed into his.

She pulled away quickly from him, heart racing.

Her palms were resting on his pillow, his head between her outstretched arms. She was already sitting down on his bed, too.

"You're still hurt," she whispered, indicating his bandaged torso.

"No, I'm okay," he replied, cupping her right cheek with his good hand. "You're with me so I'm okay."

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Sakura's heart melted and against her will, her face was coming closer to him again. It was as if Syaoran was pulling her heartstrings… and she had to admit, she did not quite mind it at all.

Their lips met in another kiss. This time more intense, no matter how awkward their positions were. She could feel that Syaoran's lips were smiling and she knew that she was smiling too.

She momentarily forgot that he was an inmate… or maybe she did not consider him like that at all from the beginning. Because if she did, she wouldn't be kissing him right now, would she?

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**And that was the hurried Chapter 7 for all of you who had been waiting for it. Please review. Things will be so much better from here on out, I promise. And let's just hope that my updating will be better as well.

Review!

xx DEVILZ CHIK


	8. Here, i need you

**Behind Bars  
**_By: _DEVILZ CHIK  
-------------------------

**Author's Notes:  
**Without further ado, I bring you the eighth chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:  
**_I don't own CCS. _

**  
------------------------------------------------  
****Chapter 8: here, I need you  
------------------------------------------------  
** -  
-

Sakura walked self-consciously in the club, the bright lights and blaring music suddenly irritating her. She was quite aware that Tomoyo had booked the club for their own party so why was there another party here?

She walked where her friends were, fixing the scarf around her neck.

It probably looked weird that she was wearing a scarf. In a club. Actually, erase _probably_ – it did look weird that she was wearing a scarf in a club. She confirmed that when strange looks were sent her way. She glared back at them, making a statement that she was quite comfortable with what she was wearing…

…Not.

Well, can you blame her?

She had at least two visible hickeys.

From one person.

And that one person managed to do that to her in less than ten minutes.

Gosh, it felt wonderful.

Just recalling it was sending tingles up her spine and causing the butterflies in her stomach flutter.

She stopped short at the thought. _Butterflies_?

She scoffed at the ridiculous… metaphor but loved the feeling nonetheless.

Finally, she reached where her friends were enjoying their drinks. They were happily conversing about something and were perhaps slightly drunk already as they greeted her with utmost enthusiasm and unusual energy.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo exclaimed giddily. "You're finally here!"

They hugged.

"What is with that scarf?!" her fashion-inclined friend demanded, an eyebrow raised.

Sakura avoided her friend's eyes. "I feel… cold," Sakura said, trying to be as convincing as possible.

"Then let's heat up!" Tomoyo said eagerly and without a moment too soon, pulled off Sakura's scarf from her neck and dragged her to the dance floor.

Sakura didn't have to worry whether Tomoyo could see the love marks on her neck because she was positive that her dear best friend was indeed _drunk_. Was she that late? She just got held up in the infirmary and the traffic… She had that much to drink already?

Nevertheless, Sakura danced the night away. Feeling free and confident all of a sudden. It was as if she had no problems to think about but the reality was she had a _big_ dilemma at the moment.

_Screw it_, she decided. _I'll think about that later._

When the upbeat song ended and was replaced by a slow one, the girls decided to go back to their table and order drinks to freshen up. Sakura chose to order a light drink only, knowing that she would need to go to work tomorrow morning.

A hang over would not be the best thing for her right now.

She sipped her drink and caught up with her friends.

"Hey, Sakura," Chiharu turned to her. "How's my boy?"

"Well, he remains to be in a good condition," Sakura replied. "Since he hasn't been to the infirmary at all."

"That's good to hear," Chiharu said, relieved.

"Speaking of boys, where's mine?" Tomoyo wondered aloud, looking for Eriol.

"He just went to the bathroom, sweetie," Rika said, who was maybe the most sober of them all after Sakura.

"Maybe I should go, too," Tomoyo said, an evil smile playing on her lips. Before she could walk over to the bathroom, the rest of them stopped her and dropped her derriere back on her seat. She pouted and narrowed her eyes at all of them. "What, can't I go make out with my boyfriend?" she asked childishly.

"Tomoyo… that's not the point. You're drunk and we don't think it's the best time to attack your boyfriend in the bathroom."

"It's the best time," Tomoyo insisted. "I mean…" her eyes fell on Sakura and she totally forgot what she as going to say a moment ago. "Where did you get those love marks on your neck, Sakura?"

Now, everyone's attention was on Sakura and she desperately looked for her scarf which was draped over on Tomoyo's chair.

_Busted_.

"They're not love marks," Sakura pointed out. She covered the marks with her hands even though they had been already exposed. "They're mosquito bites!"

Chiharu grabbed the hand that was covering her neck and upon close examination of the mark, Chiharu gasped. "They're not mosquito bites!" Chiharu revealed. "Mosquitoes don't suck on your skin that much."

"…They look fresh, Sakura," Tomoyo said. "Who have you been with?"

Sakura chose not to reply but everyone was waiting for her response. They had known Sakura since forever and if she had her eye on someone, they were already prepared to listen to her non-stop rambling about that particular person. But when Sakura did not open her mouth after one minute, they knew that Sakura had decided to hide it from them.

When they were about to persuade her to spill the details, Eriol came and hugged Tomoyo from behind.

"I was going to follow you in the bathroom but these people stopped me," she looked at her friends accusingly and Eriol only let out a laugh.

"You didn't have to follow me," Eriol told her softly. "And you know the other VIP party with us today?"

"Mhmm," Tomoyo waited for him to continue.

"Well, one of the hosts is a cousin of mine," Eriol said. "I ran into her and she said she'd love to meet you."

Hearing about meeting a new acquaintance perked up Tomoyo's spirit. She stood up and held Eriol's hand. "I want to meet her, too!" she declared.

Eriol led Tomoyo towards a crowd of people but stopped short when a young woman appeared in front of him.

"Well, here she is," Eriol said, slightly surprised to see his cousin already there. He thought she would be waiting by her side of the club. "Tomoyo, this is my cousin, Li Meilin. And Mei, this is my girlfriend, Daidouji Tomoyo."

The two girls shook hands. Seeing that Eriol's cousin looked so proper and sober, Tomoyo tried to appear as if she was also.

"It's nice to meet you," Meilin said solemnly to Tomoyo, smiling at her. "I've been to few of your shows. I love your clothes."

Tomoyo was flattered.

"Aw, thank you," Tomoyo said politely.

"I'd like to apologize on crashing your party tonight," Meilin said softly. "The manager totally did not inform me that there would be another private party here tonight."

"Oh, it's totally fine," Tomoyo said, shrugging it off. "This place is fine for all of us."

"Daidouji-san, may I please borrow my cousin for a while?" Meilin asked nicely.

"Sure," Tomoyo nodded then turned to Eriol. "I'll just be there, okay?" Then she turned to Meilin. "It's nice meeting you."

Tomoyo went back to her friends and ordered another drink. No one pried on Eriol's cousin as they watched that there was no tension anyway, so they left it at that and talked about random things.

Some of them would go up to the dance floor but Sakura remained settled on her seat while pondering why Eriol's cousin looked so familiar. When only Tomoyo and Sakura were the only ones left on the table, Sakura came closer to Tomoyo.

"What, are you ready to tell me where you got those love marks, huh?" Tomoyo asked her, taking a gulp out of her absinthe drink.

Sakura had forgotten how much alcohol Tomoyo could drink.

"Forget about it already," Sakura said, dropping the matter. "What's the name of Eriol's cousin?"

"Li Meilin," Tomoyo answered coolly. "She's nice… and pretty, too."

Sakura mouthed an 'Oh' and figured out where exactly she had seen the girl before. She was Syaoran's visitor… He told her that she was his cousin. But if she was Eriol's cousin, then that would make Eriol his cousin too!

She closed her eyes in confusion… How could such a cousin turn his back on his own cousin? How can Eriol not believe Syaoran? How can Eriol condemn Syaoran?

Or was she just acting like this because they were _intimate_ hours ago?

Suddenly, Tomoyo jumped in realization. "She's related to that Li guy!" she hissed to Sakura. For a moment, she did not look drunk at all.

"Yeah, she is," Sakura said. "I saw her visit him in WS."

"What?" a voice behind him spoke up.

They turned and saw Eriol standing behind them.

_Busted. Again_.

"You saw her visit Syaoran in WS?" Eriol's eyes were fixed on Sakura. All the softness and warmness in his aura were gone. "That bastard made her go there? What an inconsiderate…"

Tomoyo held his arm to calm him down. He muttered a quick apology but was still waiting for Sakura to answer.

"Well, I haven't been open about my job," Sakura started slowly. She breathed in slowly… Well, might as well tell him, right? "I'm the doctor in the Wolf State Penitentiary. And yes, I have met Li Syaoran… and yes, I saw your cousin visit him once but I believe Li mentioned that he did not want her there."

Sakura sounded sincere so Eriol accepted the last statement.

"That explains why she suddenly cornered me here," Eriol said under his breath.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, concerned. "Do you want to take off now?"

Eriol shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine," he assured her. "This is your night. I thought we're here to have fun." Tomoyo smiled at that. "And besides, my lady, I believe you still owe me a dance." He helped her stand up from the high stool, excused themselves from Sakura and walked over to the dance floor.

Sakura, being alone on the table, felt awkward and decided to go to the bathroom. But once there, she saw none other than Li Meilin. She was currently talking to someone and could not be bothered that she was not the only one in the bathroom now.

Sakura placed her purse beside the sink after checking if it was dry. She twisted the faucet and washed her hands, walked over the where the tissue paper was and dried her hands. Then, she looked at herself in front of the mirror.

Digging through her purse, she took out her lip gloss and applied it on her lips. It was strawberry-flavored and she just absolutely loved its scent. Her movements slowed down though once her ears managed to catch Meilin's conversation over the phone.

"…What do you mean we can't see him tomorrow?" Meilin sounded agitated, she had started pacing. "I thought what we've got is good news. Won't it be better to tell that to Syaoran as soon as possible?"

Pause.

"He was beaten up?!" she exclaimed then she remembered Sakura's presence in the bathroom. She looked at the other girl apologetically and lowered her voice a little. "Again? Is he alright now?" Pause. "He's not in Solitary? Are you sure?" Pause. "Well, WS has a good doctor, then."

Sakura felt impressed with herself.

"…When can we see him?" Pause. "Can't we talk to the doctor? He seems nice," Meilin doubled over. "Oh, it's a she. Well, can't we talk to her?" Pause. "Of course, she's not there anymore! She probably has a life, too. I meant, ask her tomorrow!" Pause. "It's already late. Why did you just tell me about Syaoran now?"

Sakura finished applying lip gloss and looked at her watch. It was almost 11 in the evening.

"Fine, alright," Meilin was saying.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror again and noticed that the love marks on her neck were still visible and looking very obvious. Why did she only have to have a lip gloss in her house as a female accessory? Why couldn't she get a concealer like the rest of the female population?

Looking annoyed at the exposure of her neck, she crunched up her face and just let her hair fall on the sides of her and rest on the sides of her neck. Well, at least it was not that obvious now. Maybe she should start growing out her hair as well.

She heard Meilin flip her phone shut. Meilin then walked towards the sink beside her and washed her hands, too.

"You forgot your concealer?" Meilin suddenly asked her. "You want to borrow mine?"

Sakura could only stare at her. Whoa, she was nice. "No, it's okay," she said kindly. "I'll be off soon, anyway."

"You're one of Daidouji-san's friends?"

Sakura nodded, smiling.

"This might be so random and I'm probably stepping out of line here," Meilin started, facing Sakura. "I mean… we don't even know each other, but say, what do you think of Daidouji-san's boyfriend?"

Sakura grinned. "I know you're Eriol's cousin," she revealed.

Meilin pouted and was disappointed. "And I thought I could fish something about my cousin from others."

"He's a nice guy," Sakura stated. "He knows how to suck up to Tomoyo's friends – that's how he won our approval."

"Good to know that he behaves himself," Meilin said with humor.

It was wonderful how two strangers were talking so freely. They were living in a small world – if only Meilin would find out that she was already in front of the doctor that could approve visitation to Syaoran…

They both jumped as Sakura's ring tone echoed around the walls of the confined bathroom. Sakura muttered an 'excuse me' to Meilin and walked steps away from her to answer the call.

"Hello?" she greeted.

"_Kinomoto-san!"_ the caller was panting and breathless. _"It's Officer Matsumoto._"

"Officer Matsumoto?" she repeated, definitely confused why the officer would be calling her on her private line.

"_Kinomoto-san, Officer Narita transferred Li Syaoran to Solitary!" _the man told her and she had heard him quite clearly despite his hushed tone. _"Just ten minutes ago!"_

"What?! But didn't I tell him that _I_ decide when my patients get discharged out of my clinic?"

"_Yes, he is very much aware of that and I reminded him about it but he still insisted on transferring Syaoran to Solitary tonight."_

"Was Li awake when he was transferred?"

Hearing the name, Meilin walked closer to Sakura, an inquiring look on her face. Sakura mouthed 'I'll explain later' to Meilin.

"_Yes. I was standing guard outside his room then I noticed he woke up and he was in pain. So I gave the pills that you told me to give to him then he calmed down a bit. Then Officer Narita showed up out of nowhere and took him to Solitary."_

"Chest pains again? What kind of a man is he? The painkillers are already strong enough but it doesn't even last in his system for more than five hours!" she sounded so frustrated. "Thank you for calling me, Officer. I'm on my way. Will you open the gates for me?"

"_I have to ask the Warden first," _Officer Matsumoto told her.

"Okay, you do that then call me back," Sakura said. "Thank you again, Officer."

"_No problem, Kinomoto-san," _he hung up.

Sakura hung up as well and let out an exasperated sigh.

"You're the doctor…" Meilin whispered. "Oh my god, is Syaoran okay?"

"Now, I can't be sure," Sakura replied truthfully. "The Solitary Chamber does things to prisoners and in Syaoran's weak physical condition right now… I don't know. I just hope he remains strong and focused."

"Why was he beaten up again?" Meilin asked curiously.

"I'm not really sure…" she answered and wondered to herself why she hadn't had the chance to ask Syaoran what exactly was the fight about. "He fought back though and threw quite good punches."

Meilin had to smile at that. "He's actually a fighter," she told Sakura. "He's been doing martial arts since he was seven but he stopped training when he entered the business world."

The two girls stood there in the middle of the bathroom silently.

Meilin mused that it was indeed such a small world.

Then, at last, Sakura's phone rang.

"Officer?"

"_Kinomoto-san, the warden agreed,"_ was Officer Matsumoto's great news. _"He's on his way here as well."_

"Thank you very much, Officer," she hung up quickly, then grabbed her purse. "I'm going to WS now to settle the matters. I'll tell him I met you."

"Thank you," Meilin squeezed her hands and her eyes were sparkling with gratitude.

Sakura went back to their table. All of her friends were there and they looked like they were playing a game. Drinking games would never get so old.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo called her when she saw her approaching.

"Tomoyo-chan, I have to go," she said in a hurry. "I'm sorry I have to take off so soon. I have this urgent thing in WS."

Tomoyo understood and hugged her friend. Sakura went to the rest of her friends for a hug then waved at them and walked towards the exit. Before she could reach the door, though, Tomoyo called her back so loudly that she thought the entire club heard.

"Kinomoto Sakura, you stay right there!" Tomoyo ordered her. Sakura froze on her spot and waited for Tomoyo to be in front of her. "Those love marks," Tomoyo said through gritted teeth and with narrowed eyes. "… are from…"

Sakura did not let her friend finish the statement.

"I know, I know," Sakura said, knowing full well that even in Tomoyo's drunken state, she still figured out that the love marks were the work of Syaoran. "I know it was a stupid thing to do and I broke the rules. But Tomoyo… I didn't really… I couldn't…" she suddenly did not know what she wanted to say.

"_It's not fair!_" she finally blurted out to her friend.

If they had met at a totally different place, at a totally different time… everything would have fine and perfect. But that was not the case.

* * *

-  
-

"_You're still hurt," she whispered, indicating his bandaged torso. _

"_No, I'm okay," he replied, cupping her right cheek with his good hand. "You're with me so I'm okay."_

_Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Sakura's heart melted and against her will, her face was coming closer to him again. It was as if Syaoran was pulling her heartstrings… and she had to admit, she did not quite mind it at all. _

_Their lips met in another kiss. This time more intense, no matter how awkward their positions were. She could feel that Syaoran's lips were smiling and she knew that she was smiling too. _

_Syaoran had managed to rest all of his weight on his good arm so that he was leaning over Sakura. Sakura had totally given in and had comfortably laid her upper body on his bed. They were so close and without a moment's notice, she felt Syaoran's tongue delve inside her mouth, rubbing against her own tongue and doing incredible things with it. _

_She was suddenly thankful that those bastards did not damage his lips because damn, he's an awesome kisser. _

_He then left her mouth and trailed butterfly kisses down her exposed neck. Finding a particularly sensitive spot, he began to suckle there until the pleasure was too much, a moan escaped from her lips. _

What is he doing to me_, she asked herself but was feeling too good, she didn't bother for an answer. _

_Their lips met again in a bruising kiss. _

_Then she remembered that he was really _still_ hurt. So she immediately stopped kissing him. Syaoran only looked at her, confused._

"_Syaoran, I –"_

_He cut her off. "I know it's wrong but I can't help it," he said, almost sounding desperate that he needed to be with her. He needed her. _

_She made a move to sit up so Syaoran was back on his lying position. She was now the one looming over him, her lips quite swollen because of the recent attack it had encountered. _

"_Why are you –" Honestly, she really didn't know how to ask the question. _

"…_I need you," he let out breathlessly, his eyes holding so much emotion Sakura had never seen before. _

_They seemed to be magic words to Sakura as she leaned towards him and attacked his lips this time._

_She needed him as well. _

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**And that ladies and gentlemen is a very quick update from me. You have to love that. I only updated… like less than 28 hours ago? Yay for me. Let's all celebrate the coming out of this very amazing chapter.

Thanks for reading. Please review!

xx DEVILZ CHIK


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